A flood sheet for the
Assiniboine River for June 7, 2006is attached. It also shows conditions and forecasts for the Red River
in Winnipeg and for Red Deer Lake.
The water level of Shellmouth
Reservoir rose one-tenth of a foot during the 48 hour period ending this
morning. Inflows have been rising slowly for the past 7 days due to runoff from
recent rainfall. An additional 10-15 mm fell in the upper Assiniboine watershed
at the beginning of this week. The Assiniboine River is expected to crest at
Kamsack by early tomorrow and reservoir levels should begin to fall in a few
days. The date at which the reservoir outflow will decline to 1300 cfs has been
further delayed to June 25 based on normal weather conditions. At 1300 cfs
flooded lands just downstream of the Reservoir can drain effectively through
subsoil seepage.
Portions of the Assiniboine
valley from Miniota to Oak Lake remain too wet for farm implements to begin
working on agricultural lands. Some recent rain events have halted the drying
process. However the River is within its channel and further flooding of valley
lands would only occur if precipitation is well above average during the next
few weeks.
The level of Red Deer Lake
has change very little in the last few days and was at 865.26 feet this morning.
This level is still a quarter foot higher than the crest of 1979, which is the
highest on record since the mid 1950’s. Heavy downpours early this week have
maintained high inflows to the lake. The Red Deer River crested at Erwood on
June 1 and continues to fall slowly. The Lake should resume a slow decline in
the next few days and is expected to fall to 864.5 feet by June 18 based on dry
weather.
The Community of Red Deer
Lake is continuing the clean-up under the supervision of Manitoba’s Department
of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs. High water levels and a high water table are
interfering with the work, as some homes are still surrounded by water or are
water-logged in the crawl space.
The level of the Red River in
downtown Winnipeg has risen slightly due to rainfall and remains about half a
foot above the normal summer level. However St. Andrews Dam is back to normal
operations with respect to navigation of watercraft.
The Interlake remains very
wet with water still standing in many low areas. However streams are back within
their banks.
The weather forecast from
Environment Canada calls for showers in southwestern Manitoba on Friday and in
southeastern Manitoba on Saturday.
