Lake Manitoba update: April 1, 2023 by Dr. Scott Forbes

It has been an uneventful winter in the Lake Manitoba basin. Snowfall has been light, and lake and river levels are either stable or falling modestly. The level of Lake Manitoba is currently 811.50 feet, the midpoint of the desired operating range. That level is down about a quarter foot from the end of February. Outflow at Fairford is currently reading 4,061 cfs, down about 600 cfs from a month ago. The level of Lake St. Martin is sitting at 800.58 feet, down 0.3 feet from last month, but still above flood level. Flow on the Dauphin River is reading 5,015 cfs, as it looks like the gauge problems have been fixed. Flow on the Waterhen River is now down to just 720 cfs, about half the flow of a month ago. The level of Lake Winnipegosis is almost unchanged from last month, sitting at 830.92 feet. Flow on the Whitemud is now a trickle at 34 cfs. Flow on the Assiniboine is 844 cfs at Holland and 1222 cfs at Headingly. The level of the Shellmouth Reservoir is down about 4 feet from last month to 1393.65 feet, as the province was creating room for the spring runoff. 

Lake update 

Time: April 1, 2023 

Steep Rock: 811.44 ft 

Westbourne: 811.55 ft 

Mean level Lake Manitoba: 811.50 ft 

Lake Manitoba desired operating range: 810.5 to 812.5 ft 

Lake St. Martin: 800.58 ft 

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

Lake Winnipegosis: 830.92 ft 

Shellmouth Reservoir: 1,397.65 ft 

River update 

Time: April 1 2023 

Portage Diversion: closed 

Assiniboine at Holland: 844 cfs 

Assiniboine at Headingly: 1,222 cfs 

Waterhen: 720 cfs 

Whitemud: 34 cfs 

Fairford: 4,061 cfs 

Dauphin: 5,015 cfs

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 April 1, 2023.