Qu’Appelle River Watershed Updates

• The first of three fall operations on Echo Lake took place on September 18, during which 3 stoplogs were removed from each of the 8 bays. The lake level has dropped by 9 cm over the past 4 days, with the current outflow at 10.4 m³/s.
• The lake level is expected to decline further, with the second fall operation planned for mid-October.
• Most of the lakes in the Qu’Appelle system are at or near their targeted fall operating range.
• The lake level of Buffalo Pound is slightly above its fall operating range.

• The Qu’Appelle River Dam release is 4.9 m³/s
• Inflow to Buffalo Pound Lake is 4.7 m³/s
• Since late August, releases have been maintained at around 3 m³/s to lower the lake levels.
• Buffalo Pound Lake is at 509.55 m this morning, 23 cm above the top of the fall operating range (509.32 m).

• The water level of Wascana Lake at the Marina is 570.54 m this morning, which is 0.02 m above its target operation level of 570.52 m.
• No further operations are planned at this time.

• Last Mountain Lake is currently at 490.03 m, which is 5 cm below the top of the fall operating range (490.08 m).
• With reduced flows in Wascana Creek and the Qu’Appelle River upstream of Craven, about 0.9 m³/s is currently flowing from Last Mountain Lake into the Qu’Appelle River.
• No operations are currently planned for this structure in the near future.

• Pasqua and Echo lakes are currently at 478.92 m, which is 7 cm below the top of the fall operating level (478.99 m).
• The first of three fall operations took place on September 18, during which 3 stoplogs were removed from each of the 8 bays. The lake level has dropped by 9 cm over the past 4 days, with the current outflow at 10.4 m³/s.
• The lake level is expected to decline further, with the second fall operation planned for mid-October.

• Mission and Katepwa lakes are currently at 478.34 m, which is 12 cm above the crest of the weir (478.22 m).
• Since the fall operation at the upstream Echo Lake control structure on September 18, lake levels have risen by about 7.5 cm.
• Lake levels are expected to continue rising over the next week, but at a slower rate, before gradually declining.

• Inflows to Crooked Lake are about 2.5 m³/s.
• The water level at Crooked Lake is at 451.44 m this morning, which is 27 cm below the top of the fall operating range of 451.71 m.
• The fall operation is scheduled for mid-October, when all stoplogs from bays 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 will be removed.

• The water level of Round Lake is 441.67 m.
• Due to inability to operate the control structure, Round Lake is expected to remain below the desirable operating range throughout summer.

Observed:

• A total of about 30–50 mm of precipitation was recorded in the lower portion of the watershed over the past 7 days

Forecast:

• No significant rainfall is forecasted for the next 7 days.