The Water Security Agency released the 2016 Conditions at Freeze-Up Report on Thursday.
The report looks at the water conditions across the province going into winter freeze-up.
This is the first indicator of how spring runoff in 2017 will impact Saskatchewan. The other two factors include how much precipitation is received over the winter and how the snow melts in the spring.
Based on the current conditions across the province, if there is an average snowpack and spring melt, regions may see an above normal spring runoff in 2017. While the later part of October and the first few weeks of November leading up to freeze-up were relatively dry, soil moisture levels and wetland storage remain at or near capacity over much of the province.
At the end of October, most indicator stations across the province were experiencing record stream flows going into winter freeze-up which is an indication of how wet the fall was. For example, Moose Jaw and area saw roughly 100 mm of precipitation in total which is the most ever recorded for October.
The Swift Current Creek, Wood River, Notekeu Creek, lower Carrot River, Red Deer River, upper Assiniboine River, and Swan River basins all have above normal moisture conditions. These regions received above normal summer precipitation, as well as above normal precipitation in October. The initial Spring Runoff Outlook for 2017 will be issued in early February.
