Lake of the Woods Control Board preparing for increased flows despite typical levels in area thus far

Mike Lawrence - Staff Writer

Despite warmer temperatures and some rain, the Lake of the Woods Control Board (LWCB) notes that the Lac Seul watershed has remained at fairly consistent levels over the past month. As Matt DeWolfe, LWCB Executive Engineer, notes, “I don’t think much has changed from a month ago, in terms of stream flows. We have seen a bit of a pickup, of course, but the biggest change is that we’ve had a lot more precipitation in addition to the snowpack. There’s a lot of snow around as everyone knows. What the spring brings will be a combination of how much rain we get in the next month or two, where that rain falls, and how much.” 
Looking ahead, DeWolfe adds, “If we have a relatively dry May and a gradual melt of that snowpack, we expect the flows in that region to pick up to a pretty healthy rate. However, we might see a situation like on the Lake of the Woods/Rainy River system, where the recent Colorado Low… dropped quite a bit of rain on top of the snowpack. This resulted in very high stream flows for the end of April. We are not seeing that yet on the English River basin, as flows are just starting to pick up, but there’s the possibility with all this snow that we could get into a high flow situation pretty quickly if we get a lot of rain.”
DeWolfe also noted that the last time LWCB saw the potential for such high flows was in 2014, which at that time was generated by high rainfall amounts over May and June of that year, commenting, “We of course don’t know what’s coming in May and June this year, hopefully that’s not the case. But we are starting off with a lot of water on the ground, so things are primed for that situation. It’s by no means guaranteed well see a high flow season but the ingredients are there if we get a very wet spring.”
With so much dependant on the next few months’ weather, LWCB has taken some precautionary measures to prepare. As DeWolfe explained, “We don’t like to look out too far ahead, but the board did meet this week, due to conditions that are developing in the Rainy River/Lake of the Woods area. We did talk about the English River system and all the snow that is built up around there. The board has directed some outflow increases to begin out of Lac Seul to maintain a bit of extra storage there, in case we do get a high load period coming up. Having that water already moved down into the system would be a benefit in that case. But it’s a precautionary measure they are taking at this point. It’s certainly not because conditions right now are demanding very high flows from Lac Seul. Right now, everything’s right in the normal range for the lakes and rivers around Lac Seul, Ear Falls and Sioux Lookout.” 
Despite what have been typical flows in the Lac Seul basin up to this point, DeWolfe also notes that there is the chance of localized high-water levels in certain areas should flows increase, stating, “We are just seeing the very beginnings of the spring melt response on those streams. If things do pick up rather quickly, typically what we see when there’s a really sudden surge of flows coming into the areas upstream of Sioux Lookout, there’s a number of pinch points down through the lakes around Sioux Lookout on the rivers. It takes a bit of time for the water to make its way through these pinch points, so the water gets backed up locally to higher levels. So, we might see the waters upstream in that area rising a little earlier than we would see down on Lac Seul. It’s what we’ve seen in the past, a bit of backing up in the system higher up until it can work its way down through those pinch points.”
DeWolfe urges caution at this time of year in particular, explaining, “At this point the flows in the basin are coming up normal ranges, but certainly if we do get to a higher flow situation, people should be cautious. That ice on those lakes and rivers is eventually going to be undermined and falling apart, so there is some concern for those taking advantage of late season ice fishing just to be very cautious, as rapidly changing conditions are certainly possible as we start to get those warmer temperatures.”
DeWolfe concluded, “People can visit the board’s website at www.lwcb.ca. That’s the best source for the latest information. We have a notice board that we are updating regularly through the spring. And just to reiterate, the next few weeks are going to be highly dependant on how much rain falls, and when and where it falls. With luck, we’ll see a moderate May and June period, and we’ll see normal levels through the summer but it’s still too early to tell.”