Peak water levels on the Cumberland Delta are expected July 25, Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency (WSA) said Wednesday.
WSA said the high water levels are being caused by record wet conditions in the basin north of Cumberland House and flows on the Churchill River system.
The water level is expected to peak at 268.01 metres above sea level, which officials said is less than the water level experienced in 2011 — 268.46 metres.
The WSA said flood prevention efforts are underway in Cumberland House.
The agency cautioned that flooding at Cumberland House is very dynamic and can happen in different ways, but said an evacuation order is not anticipated at this time.
More than 2,000 people had to be evacuated from the community in 2013 for over a week due to flooding when the water level peaked at 267.91 metres.
The flooding prompted the Saskatchewan government to beef up flood prevention measures.
That included turning temporary dikes on Highway 123, the only road into the community, into permanent dikes.
Officials at the time said the new flood prevention measures will give the communities up to one in 100-year flood protection.
Cumberland House is roughly 450 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
Gardiner Dam spillway
The WSA said flows into Lake Diefenbaker are expected to drop in the coming days.
Flows on the South Saskatchewan River into the lake is currently 710 cubic metres a second.
Officials expect that to drop by 100 cubic metres a second on Thursday, with additional drops on Saturday and Monday.
Flow should then stabilize at 410 cubic metres a second, the WSA said.
The WSA said spillway use at Gardiner Dam is expected to end on Monday, with all flow only going through the power plant.
The agency started using the spillway on July 2 due to an increase in water levels on Lake Diefenbaker.
Officials said this was due to increased flows on the South Saskatchewan River caused by high amounts of rain in southern Alberta.
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