The late April snowfall added a little more volume to this spring’s runoff, but it’s not hampering runoff for watersheds in east central Saskatchewan. That’s according to the Water Security Agency’s latest run off report for the province. 

Lakes in the Qu’Appelle system were continuing to rise into late April, but the peaks were not expected to be impacted much by the late snowfall. Levels on Pasqua, Echo, Mission, Katepwa, Crooked and Round lakes are expected to be similar to the peaks observed in spring 2022. No flood damages are expected, stated the report.

All flows in central Saskatchewan were in-channel and receding with no expected flooding. On the North Saskatchewan River, ice has cleared from most areas above Prince Albert (PA) . The river was high at Prince Albert but contained within its banks and is about 0.63 m lower than the peak levels observed during the 2019 ice breakup event.

With above normal snowmelt from prairie portions of the basin, Lake Diefenbaker levels rose about 1.3 m thus far in April, bringing it up to 552.71 m. The plan was to increase outflows from Lake Diefenbaker with the lake securely above irrigation and recreation minimums.

Warm dry weather across much of Saskatchewan means run-off continues without risk of flooding or damages. WSA advises that during runoff conditions flows can change rapidly and urges the public to always be cautious along waterways.