North Saskatchewan River expected to see rising levels, fast currents in coming days

By Jaryn Vecchio

Communities along the North Saskatchewan River are being warned about potentially dangerous conditions.

According to the Water Security Agency (WSA), areas around Edmonton received quite a bit of precipitation over the past couple of days and that could quadruple the current on the river.

The conditions are expected to reach the Alberta-Saskatchewan border by Friday, North Battleford on Saturday, Borden on Monday, and Prince Albert on Wednesday.

Water levels are also expected to rise by around two metres, which would put them just under the peak levels from June 2022.

“While flooding is not expected at this time, there is the possibility for localized out-of-channel flows and high stream flows along the North Saskatchewan River potentially impacting communities, irrigators, ranchers, ferry operators, and recreational users,” read a statement from the WSA.

Reservoirs further downstream at Codette Lake and Tobin Lake will be lowered by SaskPower to help absorb the high flows at and below Nipawin.

There are no impacts expected below the forks on the Saskatchewan River including at Cumberland Lake.

The WSA is also reminding people to be extra cautious when near water bodies as flows can change quickly.