Water Security Agency<\/a> says opening the spillway is expected to increase the river\u2019s flow from around 280 cubic metres per second up to about 700 cubic metres per second. The release is expected to cause the river to rise about 1.4 metres in the Moon Lake area and about 0.6 m in Saskatoon.<\/p>\nShawn Jaques, president and CEO of the agency, said the move is necessary after the significant rainfall Alberta received over the past week, combined with an above-normal snow pack that is melting and increasing flows on the river.<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n
\u201cA number of dams and reservoirs in Alberta are already full, and they\u2019ve started to release water out of them as well, because of the rising waters,\u201d Jaques said in an interview on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said the last time the agency operated the spillway was in 2020. It hasn\u2019t needed to be opened since then due to drought conditions, Jaques said.<\/p>\n
Peak flows due to the opening of the spillway are expected on Thursday. The agency said it will monitor water flow to decide when to close the spillway again, potentially about a week later, depending on conditions.<\/p>\n
Jaques said about 400 cubic metres of water can flow through the dam every second. This time of year, the normal flow into Lake Diefenbaker is about 600 cubic metres per second, with typical flows through Saskatoon at about 160 cubic metres per second.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is significantly above,\u201d Jaques said, \u201cand we haven\u2019t seen this kind of outflow since 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said more than 1,000 cubic metres of water is flowing into Lake Diefenbaker every second, a rate that would fill Mosaic Stadium to the top in about two hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been talking a lot about this this spring, because we\u2019ve seen a lot of significant flows throughout Saskatchewan with the rapid snow melt and the heavy snow pack in the north, and we saw some of these levels of flows on much smaller rivers and channels than the Saskatchewan River, so they had quite an impact,\u201d Jaques explained.<\/p>\n
Any water released from the dam goes through the power turbines, he said. If higher flows are needed, the spillway gates at Gardener Dam will need to be opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cResidents will see a rise in the river,\u201d Jaques said, though the City of Saskatoon noted that the increased flow rate is not high enough to cause flooding in areas along the river\u2019s banks, like the Meewasin Valley Trail.<\/p>\n
The past number of years have brought lower flows on the river, Jaques added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for Lake Diefenbaker, we would have seen even lower levels on the Saskatchewan River,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said there\u2019s no doubt that low flows of water have an impact on sediment in the river channel, referencing troubles Saskatoon\u2019s Prairie Lily riverboat has had in recent years, with sandbars forcing the ship to stay at its dock throughout the past season.<\/p>\n
No out-of-bank flooding is expected, according to the agency\u2019s calculations. Jaques said the agency will be watching to see how sand and silt respond to the increased flow along the river.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we\u2019re seeing an increased flow in the velocity of water coming through the city\u2026 should move that sand, but it is something that we\u2019re going to monitor and see the impact of this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The city said Saskatoon Water is prepared for the greater flows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile expecting more sediment and cloudiness in the river, processes are in place to handle extra clarification that may be needed,\u201d the city release stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWater service (in Saskatoon) is not expected to be impacted by the rising river levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Safety urged for recreational river users<\/p>\n
While the increased flow won\u2019t limit recreational activities, Jaques said keeping safety in mind is always the best course of action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re cautioning and urgently urging the public to be cautious around Gardner Dam and stay away from the structure, because we are going to be flowing water over the spillway,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also saying there\u2019ll be an increase in flow through Saskatoon, increase in velocity on the Saskatchewan River, so we want people just to be cautious around the water at this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Saskatoon Fire Department is also advising extra caution as the flow rate rises.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis represents a significant increase and with that, there\u2019s an increase in the potential dangers on or around the river,\u201d said fire department deputy chief Sean Thody.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Thody urged anyone spending time around the river and along the riverbank to \u201ckeep their distance\u201d from the water, adding that swimming in the river is prohibited in Saskatoon under a city bylaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough the river may provide a tempting option to cool down on hot days, the South Saskatchewan is unpredictable,\u201d Thody said. \u201cAside from the changing, dangerously fast currents and unstable bottom, it will have many additional hazards right now such as fallen branches, hidden material like broken concrete and floating debris that will pose a threat to anyone in or near the water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guidelines for recreational river uses shared by the city suggest that only expert paddlers with whitewater experience should head out on the water during the period of increased flow (600-800 cubic metres per second). At 800 cubic metres per second, river speeds are considered dangerous.<\/p>\n
The fire department said it cannot put rescue divers into the water when the flow rate rises above 450 cubic metres per second due to the safety risk posed by those conditions.<\/p>\n
Should someone witness a person in distress in the river, the fire department said to call 911 immediately and share any details about the person and the situation. Callers were advised to track recognizable landmarks where the person was first seen in distress, and to try to coach the person from shore to stay calm and keep their head above water.<\/p>\n
Anyone who falls into the river was advised to remove any heavy or bulky clothing and to move with the current as they make their way towards the shore, rather than fighting against it.<\/p>\n
Neither bridges nor construction projects are expected to be impacted by the higher river flow rate.<\/p>\n
Residents were reminded to only view the weir from a safe distance, while pet owners were reminded to keep a close eye on their animals, especially in off-leash areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best advice is to avoid these areas for the coming days,\u201d the city stated in a release.<\/p>\n
\u2013 with files from 650 CKOM\u2019s Brent Bosker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Saskatchewan River will be on the rise after the opening of the Gardiner Dam spillway on Sunday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-721813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721813","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=721813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}