REGINA – Water watchers in Saskatchewan are keeping an eye on rising lake levels, but in some areas the worst of the flood threat has passed.
Emergency management commissioner Duane McKay said there is some localized flooding as the last of the snow melts and the water moves across land to rivers and streams.
“We’re seeing a decrease in the overall threat to flooding,” McKay said Monday.
“I think a lot of that can be contributed to the late run-off and some fortunate happenstance in the sense that it didn’t all occur in all areas at the same time.”
McKay said the risk was also reduced because people took steps to protect property.
Many communities across southern Saskatchewan, including Regina and Moose Jaw, have been putting up sandbags and other water barriers for several weeks.
The Water Security Agency had warned that the entire southern half of the province would see spring run-off levels above or well-above normal.
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It said run-off was expected to be very high and flooding was likely to occur from Moose Jaw to Indian Head, including Regina, and south past Weyburn to near the United States border. Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford were in the red zone as well.
That’s because there was more snow than normal in many areas of Saskatchewan this winter.
More than a dozen communities were under states of emergency Monday because of flooding.
However, the Water Security Agency said the situation was helped by the fact that the ground seemed to absorb a lot of the snow melt.
Agency spokesman Patrick Boyle said officials are still watching flows on Wascana Creek, which runs through Regina. Boyle said the creek seems to have plateaued at lower levels than originally forecasted, but there was still a little snow left to melt in the area.
“It’ll take another day or two to know if it has peaked because we’re waiting to see how much of that flow comes from the upper part of the basin,” said Boyle.
Boyle said it appeared “the worst case scenario” has also been avoided in Lumsden, about 30 kilometres northwest of Regina.
The Water Security Agency is also still watching lake levels in the Qu’Appelle Valley as water from tributaries, including Wascana Creek, pours in.
“We’ve been fortunate,” said Boyle.
“At the end of the day it’s up to Mother Nature here, but there are still some areas the province that have issues, so we’re totally not out of the woods by any stretch just yet.”
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