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Saskatoon’s water-loving residents have grown used to paddling, swimming, wading and rowing in low levels on the South Saskatchewan River, but a record amount of snow melting in the Rocky Mountains is set to flow downstream and wash away their summer plans.
David Ukrainetz knows how important it is to get the level of the river just right.
“The river can be too high, too fast. And then on the other side, you know, too low and too slow. There’s always those extremes that we have to deal with,” Ukrainetz, who’s been rowing for over 15 years, said.
The member of the Saskatoon Rowing Club says last year’s low water levels led to sandbars knocking off over a dozen fins, boats constantly getting stuck on sandbars and navigation issues.
Though this year’s water level is a “sweet spot,” a higher volume of water poses its own issues. Ukrainetz says safety risks for beginners and personal watercraft users who might not follow rules are on his mind.
The extra water that will flow to the city over the next few weeks is currently in the form of melting snow on Alberta mountains, one scientist says.
John Pomeroy, director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for Hydrology, has observed “a remarkable amount of snow all over the place” from his research stations in Alberta.
“In some places, these are all-time record deep snowpacks. And by deep, I mean in some places exceeding four metres in depth and providing thousands of millimetres of water equivalent as they melt,” he said.
The snow has even damaged Pomeroy’s research equipment, bending towers and crushing instruments.
“We never thought we’d see snowpacks that deep when we put them in,” he said.
Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency says this snowmelt has already started pouring into Lake Diefenbaker, which feeds into the South Saskatchewan River. There was a rapid increase in the flow of water entering the lake starting last week, and the flow will triple by the end of this week.
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The Water Security Agency said last week it was increasing releases from Lake Diefenbaker from 150 cubic metres per second to 200 on Thursday and to 240 on Friday.
Snowmelt makes up 60 to 80 per cent of the stream in the Saskatchewan River basin, Pomeroy says. The water level will rise each May and June and start to decline again in July and August.
Mike Steckhan, the senior captain of the Prairie Lily, a popular ferry that sails down the South Saskatchewan, had passengers aboard when he saw sandbars forming on either side of the river earlier this spring.
The vessel did not operate last season because of low water levels and had to pause operations this season for the same reason.
Steckhan is adamant the water level should be raised.
“Let it fill right to the top. And when it fills right to the top, go to full power and all the turbines, and make some money. And then, open the spillways, too, so it goes up to enough flow that it washes it clean,” he said.
