Lower-than-average water levels on South Saskatchewan River

By Tim Kalinowski on July 27, 2017.

tkalinowski@medicinehatnews.com @MHNTimKal

Alberta Environment’s River Basins website confirms the South Saskatchewan river basin is charting lower than average for this time of year, leading to some concern about the city’s water supply capacity. The basin is currently charting at about 52 cubic metres per second, or about 20 cubic metres per second below the norm. According to the city’s water treatment plant manager John Michalopoulos however, there is absolutely no cause for alarm.

“It’s not a concern right now,” he states. “We have been lower in the past. Having said that, we are monitoring the situation and river flow daily.”

Michalopoulos says all the city’s upstream partners, working together through the Interbasin Water Co-ordinating Committee, understand conditions have been dryer this summer, and have co-operated to maintain adequate flow.

“(The Committee) tries to maintain all reservoirs and river flows to about 40-45 cubic metres per second. That’s the unofficial agreement; although we have been below that in years past… While it appears the river is low, it is actually more than sufficient to supply the city and Cypress County with their needs.”

Michalopoulos does not anticipate any need to issue a local water conservation order should temperatures stay hot through August.

“Unless we are in some kind of water shortage, and I stress we are not, and there is no requirement from Alberta Environment for us to do any type of conservation measures with our licences, then we don’t issue those kinds of conservation orders.

“We do have drought contingency plans, but supply is not a concern for us because the forecasts we are seeing show the flows will continue to be in the range they are now,” he says.

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