Water is a topic on the minds of many people, with the Quill Lakes continuing to rise, as well as continued rain throughout the Labour Day long weekend that is cutting into harvest.

On Saturday, Manitou Beach hosted Dr. Bjoern Wissel who works in the Department of Biology at the University of Regina.

Wissel spoke on many topics, including climate, fish, saline levels, and lake levels. He also touched on the situation regarding the Quill Lakes.

Central Saskatchewan lies in a sub-humid climate, which means that there is approximately 40 to 50 centimetres more evaporation than there is precipitation.

Most troubles with rising lake levels come throughout winter, as snow accumulates for 80% of water in lakes. With more moisture comes higher saline levels which could cause problems for fish species in the future.

Wissel added that with an expected continuous rise in temperature, most fish can't handle climates at or beyond 30 degrees celsius. Further to that, as the saline levels rise due to the excess moisture, that too could potentially put many, if not all species of fish in danger of disappearing.

The higher salinity levels combined with winter kill can move a lake with two grams of saline per litre up to five grams per litre.

While not exactly the case for Last Mountain Lake at the moment, there are concerns about salt levels rising for a different reason.

With the proposed Kutawagan Creek project, Wissel estimated that the levels in Last Mountain would rise from the current 1.5 grams per litre to over four grams per litre, which could be enough to kill off some fish that are presently in the lake.

During an open question and answer period, asked about the Quill Lakes situation, Wissel blamed a lack of communication, along with a quick fix decision being presented for the current state of an attempted resolution.

Wissel added that if the province moves forward with building the berm, that would move water from Kutawagan to Last Mountain, it would divert only 9% of water from the lake. At present, the lake has already risen 22-26 feet over the past ten years.

While the Quill Lakes have seen some of the highest lake levels in the area, Little Manitou Lake has risen 10-13 feet over the last ten years, Fishing Lake and Lake Lenore have risen 7-10 feet.