Fishing Lake

Fishing Lake is a semi-closed basin, meaning that it has no defined outlet, and water movement is restricted by the flat prairie landscape. As a result, the lake naturally experiences significant fluctuations in water levels depending on annual snowmelt runoff and rainfall.  

Water levels at Fishing Lake are driven mainly by natural conditions, including runoff, rainfall, snowmelt, lake storage, and the limited amount of water that can leave the lake through outflows.

In 2011, an emergency channel was constructed to help reduce high water levels after the lake reaches peak levels. The system is designed to supplement the natural path, with the emergency channel providing additional capacity when lake levels are above the natural spill elevation. Currently, the emergency channel is operating as it was designed, allowing for increased outflows when water increases above the natural spill elevation of Fishing Lake. 

Water flows out of Fishing Lake through the flat area on the southeast towards Hazel Lake. From there, the natural channel moves water to Usinneskaw Lake (Stony Lake) and then from Stoney to Whitesand Lake. In 2011, a gated emergency outlet channel was constructed to help alleviate high water levels. The emergency channel bypasses Usinneskaw Lake and moves water directly from Hazel to Whitesand. The channel was designed to help increase the natural outflow from the lake during high inflow years, but not to draw down water levels in anticipation of increased inflow. 

The channel is jointly managed collaboratively by Fishing Lake Watershed Association and the Water Security Agency, with consideration of a provincial agreement between Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  

The channel provides an important outlet, but it is not a large, fast-moving river system. Because the surrounding land is very flat, only limited outflow can be achieved, even when the gates are open.   

For the last two years, gates in the emergency channel have been left open to assist with the flow of water through the system. By fall 2025, the lake level had returned close to its natural elevation. Any further decrease could only be achieved through evaporation.

Opening the gates on the emergency channel helps water leave Fishing Lake, but it does not mean the lake will drop quickly. Fishing Lake is in a very flat landscape, so water naturally moves through the system slowly. Even when the emergency channel is open, outflows cannot be increased to a level that will see an immediate impact on the lake. Water levels will stay high for an extended period because there is limited natural slope to move water away quickly. Further, continued inflows from runoff, rain, creeks, and the surrounding watershed may offset some or all of the water leaving the lake.   

WSA has taken additional steps to improve outflow, including work to fix and modify the weir in 2024 followed by fully removing the weir at the southeast corner of the lake and planning channel clearing downstream. These actions can help, but they are not expected to create an immediate drop in lake level. It may take months before the full effect is seen. Even when these steps are completed, the lake can only be drawn down to the natural spill elevation. Any further decrease to lake levels can only be achieved by evaporation. 

Fishing Lake is on the south side of a large basin. Most of the water flowing into the lake comes from a large contributing area on the north side of the lake.   

Current lake and stream information is available through WSA’s official monitoring and reporting tools, including Stream Flows and Lake Levels. Click here and select Fishing Lake from the list of monitoring stations. During active conditions, WSA reviews monitoring information regularly and provides updates when there are meaningful changes in lake levels, flows, weather, or operational actions. 

WSA is actively monitoring conditions and working with the Fishing Lake Watershed Authority, Fishing Lake First Nation, the local Rural Municipalities, and other partners. Current actions include keeping outlet gates open, checking for debris or restrictions, removing the southeast weir to improve outflow, and planning downstream channel clearing. These steps are intended to move as much water as the system can carry. However, because the area is naturally flat and the outlet has limited capacity, there is no single action that will quickly lower the lake. WSA will continue to assess conditions and share updates as work progresses.  

WSA encourages property owners to continue to work through their local municipality to access sandbags and support through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and Provincial Disaster Assistance Program. 

WSA is working closely with the local municipalities and other government agencies to identify and explore other potential options, and we intend to continue to communicate and update the communities and residents.   

The Government of Saskatchewan flooding support website provides information and resources to those experiencing flooding.  Flooding Support | Emergency | Government of Saskatchewan.

If you are experiencing flood damage or are at imminent risk of flooding, there may be programs available to provide support. The Water Security Agency offers the Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program (EFDRP) to provide cost-shared support for permanent flood mitigation and temporary pumping to protect buildings and groundwater wells from imminent risk of flooding.  The program is available to individual property owners, businesses, and municipalities. Eligible projects may receive 50% cost-shared funding up to a maximum grant amount of $50,000.  For more information on EFDRP, please contact WSA’s Client Services at 1-866-727-5420.

The Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP), administered through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), supports residents, small businesses, agriculture operations, First Nations, non-profits and communities recovering from natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes, plow winds and other severe weather events. To access PDAP, contact your local municipality or First Nation. Municipalities are encouraged to contact PDAP directly as soon as a disaster event occurs. 

A watershed association is a local government body established under The Watershed Associations Act. It allows municipalities and other local organizations to jointly plan, fund, and manage projects that provide shared watershed benefits. 

The Fishing Lake Watershed Association was formed in 1997 and includes the RM of Sasman (including North Shore and Ottman-Murray Beach), RM of Foam Lake, Resort Village of Chorney Beach, and Resort Village of Leslie Beach. Its board includes representatives from each member organization, and oversees the association’s activities, finances, and decisions, and works with WSA to maintain and operate the emergency channel. 

In high run-off years like this Spring, the amount of water from snowmelt and runoff is the main factor driving lake levels.  When areas are already saturated, like soil, wetlands, and drainage systems, water moves across the land in similar ways whether areas have additional drainage or not.   

Fishing Lake is prone to damage from wind and wave action, especially when water levels are high. Strong winds can push water toward exposed shorelines, causing waves, erosion, debris movement, and temporary increases in water levels along parts of the lake. This means damage can occur even when the lake is below a previous peak or below the top of a berm. Residents are advised to use caution near the shoreline, secure loose items, avoid unstable or eroding banks, and monitor local weather and lake conditions. Property owners concerned about immediate flood risk should contact their local municipality, Saskatchewan Public Safety Association or WSA. 

Shoreline protection can involve several parties, depending on the location, land ownership, type of work, and whether the issue is emergency flood protection or longer-term shoreline stabilization. WSA can provide information on water levels, flood risk, outlet operations, and potential eligibility for emergency flood mitigation. However, WSA is not always the landowner or the authority responsible for completing shoreline works. Where shoreline areas involve Crown land, public land, municipal land, private property, or areas connected to First Nation, federal, provincial, or local responsibilities, residents may need to work with the appropriate landowner or authority before work can proceed.  

WSA will continue to review lake conditions, outlet performance, and opportunities to improve how water moves through the system. This includes ongoing coordination with the Fishing Lake Watershed Association, Fishing Lake First Nation, the local Rural Municipalities, Manitoba, and other partners. Planned and potential work may include monitoring the emergency channel, clearing restrictions where appropriate, reviewing operational information from the current high-water period, and identifying practical steps that could reduce risk before the next runoff season. Because Fishing Lake is strongly influenced by natural runoff, weather, and limited outflow, no single measure can remove the risk of future high-water events. 

Fishing Lake has had water management challenges for many years. The current high-water event is part of a long-standing issue that governments, local partners and Manitoba have worked on for decades. 

The initial work to develop a drainage project to lower lake levels during times of high water began in 1997. This earlier work is what led to the formation of the Fishing Lake Watershed Association in August 1997. However, the threat of flooding diminished in following years until 2006 when flooding issues resurfaced. 

In 2007, Fishing Lake experienced flooding that impacted between 400 to 500 cottages and homes.  A series of berms were constructed in response to the flooding event, and in 2011 an emergency outlet channel was constructed.  

The Agreement with Manitoba is an operating agreement that guides how the Fishing Lake Flood Relief Channel is managed. It was established to help reduce flood risk around Fishing Lake while minimizing impacts downstream in Manitoba. The agreement sets out how Saskatchewan and Manitoba work together, establishes a Joint Operating Committee to review conditions, and provides the operating rules that guide when and how water can be released through the channel. 

WSA has taken additional steps to improve outflow, including removing the weir at the southeast corner of the lake and planning channel clearing work downstream. Fishing Lake is in a very flat landscape, so water naturally moves through the system slowly. WSA continues to explore other options to increase flows.  

WSA will continue to share updates through official channels, including this Fishing Lake webpage and WSA Client Services. Updates will focus on meaningful changes in lake levels, flows, weather, outlet operations, flood protection information, and planned work. WSA will also continue to coordinate with local and regional partners so information can be shared through appropriate community channels. Residents can submit questions through WSA Client Services, and those questions may help inform future public updates or additions to this FAQ.

For questions about lake conditions, residents can contact Water Security Agency Client Services at 1-866-727-5420. For questions about disaster recovery assistance through PDAP, residents should contact their local authority or the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.