Province reminding public about dangers of approaching Gardiner Dam spillway

The Government of Saskatchewan is reminding boaters to continue to avoid the Gardiner Dam spillway at Lake Diefenbaker.

In a release, the province acknowledged an increased number of people out enjoying the weekend weather. Due to this increase in traffic, the Water Security Agency is continuing to advise boaters and the public to heed safety signage and protective buoys around the Gardiner Dam spillway.

The province said if a boater ignores the warnings and passes the protective log boom into the inlet channel, it could potentially trigger a situation where the boat — or other type of vessel —  could not escape the current and could be drawn into the spillway structure.

The province said the public should not leave the roadway and directly approach the spillways. This could include going down the embankment or standing along the wing walls.

The outflow from the dam from the spillway and power plant is about 700 cubic metres per second with 300 m3/s being released through the spillway gates.

The province said the spillway release could increase which could further increase the risk if the intake channel is entered.