There will be spring flooding in Saskatchewan again this year — but the experts say it won’t be nearly as bad as last year and the flood prone area is a lot smaller.
John Fahlman, with the water security agency, says the only area were runoff is expected to be really high is in the Prince Albert area:
“There is definitely a threat up there, and the area we are showing is well above normal.”
If you look at a map of the province, virtually all of central Saskatchewan is expecting above normal runoff, but that is not expected to created flooding.
The minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, Ken Cheveldayoff, says there is natural drainage in most of the province — with the exception of the Prince Albert region:
“This area has poor natural drainage and is a closed basin. So a lot of water that was there last year had nowhere to go so it is still there this year.”
Three First Nations are in the flood zone — Montreal Lake, Sturgeon Lake and Wahpeton.
While the area is at risk for flooding the long range forecast looks good, John Fahlman with the Water Security Agency expects a slow melt:
“It is predicted to be cool going forward, so these are all things that lead to a very slow melt and reduces the melt.”
Flooding is not expected along the North Saskatchewan River this spring even with above normal runoff. Ice jams can change that in a hurry, but they are unpredictable.
Cheveldayoff says we are also in a better position to handle any flooding this year as a result of permanent water control measures that were put in place following last year’s flooding.