Water levels at Lake Diefenbaker not ‘ferry’ high

Water levels at Lake Diefenbaker are so low that it’s difficult to put a boat in the water, including a ferry that has operated there for more than 50 years.

John Bardahl took a video of the boat dock west of Highway 4 at Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park, which was sitting high and dry with no water anywhere near it.

He said in all of his years of living at the park, he has never seen the water so low.

“Typically it’s down in the spring, just to allow for the snowpack melt that comes in later in June, but this year it is exceptionally low,” he said.

Bardahl said the newer boat dock and marina on the east side of the highway still have water access, but he cautioned the water is low in many places.

“Once kids are out of school, the park gets extremely busy, and it will be a mess with boats getting damaged in the marina for sure if it doesn’t come up at least a couple of feet,” he said.

Saskatchewan Landing isn’t the only spot where the water level is causing problems. Elsewhere on Lake Diefenbaker, the Riverhurst Ferry remains parked. The delayed start to the season is a first for the ferry, which began operating in 1967.

“Our ferry crews are unaware of any time when we’ve been unable to begin operation because of shallow water,” Steve Shaheen with the Ministry of Highways said in an email.

“The government understands the importance of ferry service in Saskatchewan for farmers, local residents and tourists. Crews will continue to monitor the situation.”

Patrick Boyle with the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency told Gormley guest host Brent Loucks the water level is low because of a rain shortage and the recent warm temperatures causing evaporation.

The snow melt in the Rocky Mountains is also about three weeks late this year, Boyle added. Once that happens, he said water levels should start to rise.

“That mountain runoff we typically see in June, it’s delayed because of the colder temperatures in the mountains,” Boyle said. “Looking at Lake Diefenbaker, we are about about 551.2 metres, which is 2.4 metres below the typical level for this time of year.”