Lake Manitoba update: November 28, 2021……compiled by Dr. Scott Forbes

The lakes are icing up, and water level readings are no longer wind affected. Lake Manitoba remains low at just 810.25 feet, well below the minimum level (810.50 feet) of its desired operating range. The outflow at Fairford River is a trickle at 551 cfs. The main inflow from the Waterhen River is up to 1,596 cfs, though this looks suspiciously high, and might be affected by ice formation.  The level of Lake Winnipegosis has stabilized under the ice at 829.17 feet. Flow on the Whitemud River is low at just 45 cfs. Lake St. Martin is up slightly from last week to 796.44 feet, still far below its desired operating range. Flow on the Dauphin River is low at 607 cfs. Gauge readings on the Assiniboine may be ice affected, registering 749 cfs at Holland and 600 cfs at Headingly. The level of the Shellmouth Reservoir has dropped slightly to 1398.94 feet.  

River update 

Time: November 28, 2021 

Portage Diversion: closed 

Assiniboine at Holland: 749 cfs 

Assiniboine at Headingly: 600 cfs 

Waterhen: 1596 cfs 

Whitemud: 45 cfs 

Fairford: 551 cfs 

Dauphin: 607 cfs

Lake update 

Time: November 28, 2021 

Steep Rock: 810.25 ft 

Westbourne: 810.25 ft 

Mean level Lake Manitoba: 810.25 ft 

Lake Manitoba desired operating range: 810.5 to 812.5 ft 

Lake St. Martin: 796.44 ft 

Lake St. Martin desired operating range: 797.0 to 800.0 ft 

Lake Winnipegosis: 829.17 ft 

Shellmouth Reservoir: 1398.93 ft 

Extracted from the Environment and Climate Change Canada Real-time Hydrometric Data web site (https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/mainmenu/real_time_data_index_e.html) on November 28, 2021. 

Please note that as a follow up to information posted last week concerning the class action lawsuit I contacted the legal firm to clarify a couple of points. All who live in the area around the lake, beit seasonal or permanent, you are part of the class action. If you have filed a claim previously with the law firm, that claim will be forwarded to the administrator once appointed. Anyone who has not filed a claim or wants to amend a claim will have to work directly with the administrator. More updates will follow.

Lake Manitoba update: November 21, 2021

Today there are two parts to the weekly update. The first is the communication received from the law office representing property owners in the class action lawsuit with excerpts reported following.

“Following trial and judgment, but prior to any appeal, the parties entered into negotiations and have reached a settlement of the lawsuit.”

“Without admitting any wrongdoing, the Government of Manitoba has agreed to pay $85.5 million to settle the lawsuit.”

“All members of the Class are eligible to make claims for settlement benefits. Details of the type of claimsthat are eligible and the manner in which those claims will be assessed can be accessed at the website ofClass Counsel, DD West LLP at https://www.ddwestllp.com/ and at the website of the Claims Administratorat: http://www.exg.ca/LakeManitobaSettlement2021.”

The Lake Manitoba weekly report was compiled and submitted by Dr. Scott Forbes:

Very strong winds today are playing havoc with the gauges, so I am using readings from a day ago under calmer conditions. Lake Manitoba remains very low at just 810.20 feet, well below the minimum level (810.50 feet) of its desired operating range. The outflow at Fairford River as a result is also low at 653 cfs. The main inflow from the Waterhen River is up slightly to 1024 cfs as the level of Lake Winnipegosis, which feeds it, is also up slightly to 829.17 feet. Flow on the Whitemud River is has risen to 83 cfs. Lake St. Martin remains unchanged from last week at 796.41 feet, far below its desired operating range. Flow on the Dauphin River has risen but remains low at just 494 cfs. Flow on the Assiniboine is down to 367 cfs at Holland but has risen to 699 cfs at Headingly: these readings will jump around (and be unreliable) as ice forms on the river. The level of the Shellmouth Reservoir has risen slightly to 1399.02 feet.  

River update 

Time: November 21, 2021 

Portage Diversion: closed 

Assiniboine at Holland: 367 cfs 

Assiniboine at Headingly: 699 cfs 

Waterhen: 1024 cfs 

Whitemud: 83 cfs 

Fairford: 653 cfs 

Dauphin: 494 cfs

Lake update 

Time: November 21, 2021 

Steep Rock: 810.37 ft 

Westbourne: 810.04 ft 

Mean level Lake Manitoba: 810.20 ft 

Lake Manitoba desired operating range: 810.5 to 812.5 ft 

Lake St. Martin: 796.41 ft 

Lake St. Martin desired operating range: 797.0 to 800.0 ft 

Lake Winnipegosis: 829.17 ft 

Shellmouth Reservoir: 1399.02 ft 

Extracted from the Environment and Climate Change Canada Real-time Hydrometric Data web site (https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/mainmenu/real_time_data_index_e.html) on November 21, 2021. 

Lake Manitoba update: November 14, 2021

Data and report compiled and submitted by Dr. Scott Forbes

After the snowfall event this week things have settled down. With the cool temperatures, most of the snow remains on the landscape, and river flows and lake levels haven’t changed much. We are getting close to the point where ice-up on the rivers will make estimates of river flows unreliable, but all the rivers are very low heading into winter. 

Lake Manitoba is still very low at 810.21 feet, well below the minimum level (810.50 feet) of its desired operating range. The outflow at Fairford River is a trickle at 463 cfs. The main inflow from the Waterhen River has fallen to 971 cfs. The level of Lake Winnipegosis is down slightly from last sitting at 829.03 feet. Its level is now roughly at the bottom quartile (25%) of historic levels recorded for this time of year, and about 0.6 m (~2 feet) above its historic low. Low levels on Lake Winnipegosis will keep Lake Manitoba low for the foreseeable future (i.e., next spring and summer). Flow on the Whitemud River is down to just 31 cfs. Lake St. Martin is up on the week to 796.41 feet but remains far below its desired operating range. Flow on the Dauphin River has dropped to a trickle of just 268 cfs this week. Flow on the Assiniboine has down to 639 cfs at Holland and 604 cfs at Holland and is falling. The level of the Shellmouth Reservoir has risen slightly to 1398.98 feet. A worrisome statistic is that Shellmouth is very close to a record low for this time of year. That doesn’t bode well for its ability to keep Assiniboine flows up during the summer months: the reservoir is used for flood prevention, but also to maintain flows especially for irrigation during the dry summer months. 

River update 

Time: November 14, 2021 

Portage Diversion: closed 

Assiniboine at Holland: 639 cfs 

Assiniboine at Headingly: 604 cfs 

Waterhen: 971 cfs 

Whitemud: 31 cfs 

Fairford: 463 cfs 

Dauphin: 268 cfs

Lake update 

Time: November 14, 2021 

Steep Rock: 810.20 ft 

Westbourne: 810.21 ft 

Mean level Lake Manitoba: 810.21 ft 

Lake Manitoba desired operating range: 810.5 to 812.5 ft 

Lake St. Martin: 796.41 ft 

Lake St. Martin desired operating range: 797.0 to 800.0 ft 

Lake Winnipegosis: 829.03 ft 

Shellmouth Reservoir: 1398.98 ft 

Extracted from the Environment and Climate Change Canada Real-time Hydrometric Data web site (https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/mainmenu/real_time_data_index_e.html) on November 14, 2021. 

Lake Manitoba update: November 7, 2021

Compiled and reported by Dr. Scott Forbes.

Calm winds give us a good glimpse of the real conditions on the lakes and rivers this morning. The drought continues and rivers and lakes remain low. Lake Manitoba is currently sitting at 810.23 feet, well below the minimum level (810.50 feet) of its desired operating range. The outflow at Fairford River is up from last week’s wind-affected level but is still low at just 607 cfs. The main inflow from the Waterhen River has fallen to 1,264 cfs. The level of Lake Winnipegosis is also down from last week’s wind affected level, currently sitting at 829.10 feet. Flow on the Whitemud River is unchanged from last week at 60 cfs but is rising today. Lake St. Martin remains very low at just 796.24 feet. Flow on the Dauphin River has risen to 639 cfs this week. Flow on the Assiniboine has risen to 653 cfs at Holland, where it has crested and is now falling. The flow at Headingly is cresting at 795 cfs and should start falling this week. The level of the Shellmouth Reservoir has dropped further to 1398.97 feet. 

River update 

Time: November 7, 2021 

Portage Diversion: closed 

Assiniboine at Holland: 653 cfs 

Assiniboine at Headingly: 795 cfs 

Waterhen: 1,264 cfs 

Whitemud: 60 cfs 

Fairford: 607 cfs 

Dauphin: 639 cfs

Lake update 

Time: November 7, 2021 

Steep Rock: 810.26 ft 

Westbourne: 810.20 ft 

Mean level Lake Manitoba: 810.23 ft 

Lake Manitoba desired operating range: 810.5 to 812.5 ft 

Lake St. Martin: 796.24 ft 

Lake St. Martin desired operating range: 797.0 to 800.0 ft 

Lake Winnipegosis: 829.10 ft 

Shellmouth Reservoir: 1398.97 ft 

Extracted from the Environment and Climate Change Canada Real-time Hydrometric Data web site (https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/mainmenu/real_time_data_index_e.html) on November 7, 2021. 

Lake Manitoba update: October 31, 2021

Compiled and reported by Dr. Scott Forbes

Strongs wind are affecting lake levels and river flows making this week’s update highly tentative. Lake Manitoba is still sitting around 810.20 feet, well below the minimum level of its desired operating range (810.50 feet). The outflow at Fairford River is a trickle at just 378 cfs while the main inflow from the Waterhen River has risen to 1,632 cfs. The level of Lake Winnipegosis is wind-affected reading 830.05 feet right now. Flow on the Whitemud River is 60 cfs and rising with the rain. Lake St. Martin also appears to be wind-affected with the gauge reading 796.39 feet. Flow on the Dauphin River has dropped to 459 cfs. Flow on the Assiniboine has dropped to 586 cfs at Holland and 586 cfs at Headingly. The level of the Shellmouth Reservoir is down on the week to 1399.08 feet.

River update

Time: October 31, 2021

Portage Diversion: closed

Assiniboine at Holland: 586 cfs

Assiniboine at Headingly: 586 cfs

Waterhen: 1,632 cfs

Whitemud: 60 cfs

Fairford: 378 cfs

Dauphin: 459 cfs

Lake update

Time: October 31, 2021

Steep Rock: 810.15 ft

Westbourne: 810.26 ft

Mean level Lake Manitoba: 810.20 ft

Lake Manitoba desired operating range: 810.5 to 812.5 ft

Lake St. Martin: 796.39 ft

Lake St. Martin desired operating range: 797.0 to 800.0 ft

Lake Winnipegosis: 830.05 ft

Shellmouth Reservoir: 1399.08 ft

Extracted from the Environment and Climate Change Canada Real-time Hydrometric Data web site (https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/mainmenu/real_time_data_index_e.html) on October 31, 2021.