Trail users and water lovers may have noticed the water levels of the North Saskatchewan River starting to go down in Edmonton, but officials say people still need to stay off.
As of 9 a.m. Sunday, the province measured the water level at 4.9 metres.
In a tweet, the city said the river was slowly dropping, but there was still a high streamflow advisory in place.
The message is: conditions are still dangerous and people need to stay off the river until further notice.
In an email to Global News on Saturday, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Shani Gwin said: “The message to residents and businesses at this time is that we ask Edmontians to stay off the river and its banks until further notice.
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“The water drops a lot slower than it rises and the increased flow rates and large debris still pose risks to river users,” Gwin said. “The banks could be eroded and unstable.”
READ MORE: North Saskatchewan River peaks overnight, but high water dangers remain
Earlier this week, the waters rose 6.7 metres. As of Saturday at 2 p.m., that was reduced to 5.3 metres.
A post on the city’s website explained the water level has peaked and is starting to slowly drop.
“However, the river current remains very rapid and carries dangerous debris such as logs…Although water levels have started to recede, the river remains dangerous, and heavy rainfall upstream could make the river rise again. The province predicts conditions may last into September before water levels go back to normal.”
The Global 1 helicopter spotted large accumulations of debris around bridges and banks in the river Saturday morning.
READ MORE: Edmonton closes spray parks after EPCOR asks residents to use less water
The heavy rainfall and high amount of debris in the river has substantially increased turbidity levels in the water, EPCOR said Thursday. As a result, people in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Stony Plain, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan are being asked to limit non-essential water use through the weekend.
The city expects to provide an update on the river conditions early next week, likely on Monday.
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