This was where the water was on the morning of Monday, April 27 around Wapiti Regional Park and the ski and snowboard resort. (Facebook/Broad Leaf Media)

By Mat Barrett

Spring Breakup

Spring breakup along Saskatchewan River leads to high water levels in Wapiti Regional Park

Apr 29, 2020 | 2:24 PM

The spring runoff and spring breakup along the river system in northeast Saskatchewan has caused some issues.

The Wapiti Regional Park including the ski and snowboard resort area (left background) saw some very high water levels because of the spring breakup. (Facebook/Broad Leaf Media)

The Wapiti Regional Park was not immune to some high water levels seen over the weekend. Prince Albert also saw some higher levels due to the breakup, and some flooding. Further down the line, after the North and South Saskatchewn rivers connect is where Wapiti is, on the Saskatchewan River portion of the system. Patrick Boyle with the Water Security Agency said Prince Albert saw about a three to four metre increase in water levels, and that could be the same for the Wapiti area, including the ski and snowboard resort. However, the high water levels could be slowly subsiding now.

“That’s a sharp and quick rise and that made its way through the park there,” Boyle told northeastNOW. “What you saw is that area is where some of those high flows is prone to and historically has seen some flooding.”

Boyle said the spring runoff combined with the quick melt and breakup of the ice along the river and created a surge of water.

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Pictures of the area show extremely high water levels, with smaller buildings underwater. Fortunately for Wapiti, the water did not rise high enough to reach the second level of the ski and snowboard resort where numerous cabins are located. Boyle said flooding like this can be very destructive.

“It’s an ugly scenario to deal with just because you get that much water and it really causes a lot of problems,” he said. “It kind of moves its way through and it can damage all sorts of infrastructure, and cabins, and can rot things out and anything along the shoreline.”

Large pieces of ice float down the river under the Wapiti bridge on the morning of Monday, April 27. (Facebook/Broad Leaf Media)

Another reason for the high levels and the big surge according to Boyle is that the Wapiti Regional Park does fall along somewhat of a bend in the Saskatchewan River.

Boyle said the higher water levels could return.

“Now we kind of turn our attention to the mountain snowpack right now, and it is above normal in the Saskatchewan system there and in the northern part of Alberta,” he said. “So when that melts and makes its way through, that’s kind of what we’re looking at next.”

Boyle said the next peak is expected around June.

(Facebook/Broad Leaf Media)

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6