Shorefront homeowners prepare for the worst with lake waters on the rise

REGINA – The rain may have let up for now, but there is still serious concern over rising water levels in lakes across Southern Saskatchewan.

Crooked Lake and Round Lake are expecting to peak at historic levels, not seen since 1955.

Other residents at beachfront communities are working to keep water at bay, including Lipps Beach homeowner, Carole Bouchard.

She said Thursday, that the 2011 floods at Last Mountain Lake are still fresh in her memory and she can’t believe it’s happening again, three years later.

“When we were sitting at the kitchen table, you’d almost look eye level at the lake,” she recalled.

Her family is hard at work doing what they can to protect their lake-front home from the quickly encroaching water line.

Tony Bouchard said they are working as quickly as they can to fill sandbags and make a protective barrier against the lake’s waves.

“I would say that we’ll probably need about 2,000 to span 110 feet or so of frontage,” he said.

Lake water levels across many beachfront communities are expected to rise over the coming days, including Regina Beach where the water is already a meter above the seasonal average.

Regina Beach Mayor, Cameron Hart, said that they can’t really afford for the water to continue to rise.

“Our walk paths are out of commission because of cave-ins, and the hills are moving and we’ve got some spots breaking off close to houses.”

With much of the beach and docks submerged, local businesses are also struggling to keep their heads above water.

Regina Beach Yacht Club general manager, Marcus Ella, said that the rising water is impacting the amount of boats people are bringing in.

“Business is down, I’d say by 50 per cent. So it’s starting to hurt,” he added.

Beachgoers are being cautioned to be mindful of a significant amount of debris making its way into many of the lakes.