Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency says it will be reducing water flows from the Qu’Appelle Dam to the town of Craven in preparation for the spring runoff.
Over the next week, the flow in the upper Qu’Appelle will be reduced to 0.8 cubic metres a second from four cubic metres a second.
As a result, the Qu’Appelle River above Buffalo Pound Lake is expected to drop about 0.6 metres or roughly two feet. Below the lake, the river is expected to drop roughly 0.3 metres or one foot.
Outflows from Last Mountain Lake will increase by about four cubic metres a second, but the Qu’Appelle River below Craven is expected to remain unchanged at about five cubic metres a second.
The agency says the reduction in flows could create areas of thin ice, cracking or large ice ridges. It is advising the public to check ice conditions before crossing that section of the Qu’Appelle River.
