{"id":718724,"date":"2026-06-06T09:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/718724\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T09:37:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:37:34","slug":"incoming-high-water-levels-to-raise-saskatoon-waterline-by-over-half-a-meter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/718724\/","title":{"rendered":"Incoming high-water levels to raise Saskatoon waterline by over half a meter"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Water Security Agency is set to release water from Lake Diefenbaker into the South Saskatchewan River, raising Saskatoon\u2019s water level by 0.6 meters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is forcing some groups like the Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club to make some changes with the high, fast-moving water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have schools that come down and do dragon boating, so we\u2019ve had to cancel those. And then for our athletes who train twice a day\u2026 it will be a challenge. We\u2019ll have to go elsewhere, maybe to some pond in Stonebridge or maybe out Pike Lake to continue training,\u201d said Rob Sleeth, Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club coach.<\/p>\n

The water is coming from Alberta, thanks to a record snowpack, with over three meters in some areas \u2014 some of the highest crews have ever recorded.<\/p>\n

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That snow melted rapidly last week, with over 100 mm of rain in just a few days. Now, it\u2019s making its way here.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re getting to levels that were seen in 2013 and 2011. Those two stand out very much,\u201d said John Pomeroy, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and director of Global Water Futures Observatories.<\/p>\n

He says we haven\u2019t seen water levels this high in over a decade, and while flooding is unlikely, it can be dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe river\u2019s going to be flowing much more quickly than recent experience has lent us and so it\u2019s dangerous. The banks are dangerous, the banks can erode, the river water is cold and it\u2019s very, very fast,\u201d Pomeroy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, I think important people do not swim in the river. And if they\u2019re canoeing or kayaking on it, be very, very careful and stay away from the weir as always.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Environment
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Saskatoon Fire Department is saying people and pets need to stay out of the water.<\/p>\n

But with high levels presenting challenges, it also has some benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis brings the river closer back to its natural system. It should flush and move some of the sand to the system that we see in Saskatoon,\u201d\u2018 said Pomeroy.<\/p>\n

Less sand deposits and a washout of silt is what the Prairie Lily needs to get back sailing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt keeps the river entirely navigable and safe for everybody. So, I\u2019m looking forward to the river turning itself back into what it used to be,\u201d said Mike Steckhan, senior captain of Prairie River Cruises.<\/p>\n

Watch the video above for more on the impacts of the high-water levels.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Water Security Agency is set to release water from Lake Diefenbaker into the South Saskatchewan River, raising…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,260059,44,66,106331],"class_list":["post-718724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-high-water-levels","tag-news","tag-science","tag-water-levels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}