Recently, the Water Security Agency (WSA) released the 2015 Conditions at Freeze-up Report. The report summarizes the water supply conditions during the late fall and early winter period. This report helps provide a better understanding of the conditions on the ground in preparation for spring runoff in 2016.
The majority of the province has normal moisture conditions for this time of year; however, some areas in eastern Saskatchewan still have a higher than normal amount of moisture on the landscape going into winter.
The Pipestone, Qu’Appelle, Assiniboine, Red Deer, Torch, and Carrot River Basins all have above normal moisture conditions for this time of year. Some stream flows in the Qu’Appelle, Pipestone and Assiniboine Basins were at above normal levels at the end of October.
While spring and early summer precipitation was well below normal across much of the province, above normal late summer and fall precipitation resulted in near normal precipitation accumulations across most of Saskatchewan between April 1 and October 31, 2015.
On October 26, 2015, topsoil moisture conditions were generally described as adequate across the grainbelt with the exception of an area in the northeast and a few pockets in east central areas of the province where conditions are described as surplus. However, precipitation received during the first three weeks of November has resulted in additional areas with surplus soil moisture conditions.
Long range forecasts for this winter are suggesting below normal precipitation.
Overall, since 2010, the WSA’s groundwater observation well network has shown an overall increase in groundwater levels throughout the province.
The initial Spring Runoff Outlook for 2016 will be issued in early February. For more information, visit www.wsask.ca.
