Lake Diefenbaker water level expected to rise

Water levels at Lake Diefenbaker could soon start to rise.

The water level at the lake has been so low this season that the opening of the Riverhurst Ferry had to be delayed for the first time since 1967.

Fifty to 100 millimetres of rain is expected to fall in the Alberta foothills before Wednesday. According to Patrick Boyle of Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency, that rain and mountain runoff will raise the lake’s water level significantly in the coming days.

“That’s a significant amount of rain and inflow that’s going to come in,” Boyle said. “Whether it’s 100 millimetres, 120 millimetres or 75 millimetres, it makes a difference.”

The rainfall from Alberta should make its way into Saskatchewan by the end of the week, Boyle said.

“Then we will see the mountain runoff  coming in behind that over the next couple weeks,” he added.

Even though Saskatchewan is getting rain, Boyle said local rainfall won’t push the lake levels up like the precipitation from Alberta will.

In preparation for the large amount of water flowing in, the Water Security Agency is increasing the outflows at Gardiner Dam starting Tuesday, with further increases expected by the end of the week.

The agency urged the public to be cautious around Lake Diefenbaker as the inflow arrives, as it could result in fast-moving water and rapid changes to water levels.