An increase in the amount of water being released from Boundary Dam is expected to cause some flooding in low lying areas along the Souris River.
The Saskatchewan Watershed Authority issued an advisory Monday morning alerting the public to expect increased inflows downstream of Boundary which are "likely to cause flooding to property."
The increased flows out of Boundary were made necessary due to the amount of water running into the reservoir. As of Monday evening, the SWA was reporting inflows to Boundary of 100 cubic metres per second (CMS) and were anticipating a peak of 140cms by Tuesday.
With Boundary rapidly filling, the outflow from the reservoir was increased to 60cms Monday afternoon and bumped up to 100cms by the evening. The diversion channel from Boundary to the Rafferty Reservoir is also wide open to help alleviate the strain on the Souris. No water was being released from Rafferty as of Tuesday morning.
Officials from the Emergency Measures office as well as the City of Estevan and Village of Roche Percee have been notified about the increases and the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing are working with the communities and will be offering assistance.
Roche Percee officials and residents have also been busy preparing for any potential flooding. Deputy Mayor Sharon Wells says letters were sent out to residents last week asking them to remove any items of value from their basements and to be ready in case an evacuation order is issued.
"They've been asked to get themselves 72 hours of food and water and medicine and they have been asked to get themselves an overnight bag packed so they can evacuate," said Wells in an interview with The Mercury Monday.
"They've also been told if there is an evacuation they should remember to shut off their gas and power."
Wells has been checking the river daily and said there doesn't appear to be any immediate risk of a flood. However, the village is taking a proactive approach and is ready should the situation worsen.
"The majority of us don't think there is that much to worry about but the ones who live at the bottom of the hill and the ones who have lived here forever and lived through the last two floods are sure it is going to flood right away quick," said Wells.
"But we do have sand in place and we do have sand bags in place and as soon as we can get some palettes and some string or wire to tie they them shut with, we are going to start filling some sandbags and have them ready to go."
Wells said there are a few areas of concern, notably around what she described as the "water bridge." She said they also have worries about the new dike that was built last year when the CPR bridge was installed.
"And there are some logs coming downstream. They opened the bridge and when they did that, that brought some logs. But the logs are flowing down and the water seems to be flowing around it nicely."
Wells added that the Emergency Measures office has been in touch with the Village daily and they are on the list for help should it be needed
.
Flooding has become a major concern throughout much of southern Saskatchewan over the past week with both Swift Current and Moose Jaw experiencing troubles in recent days.
In the April runoff report, the SWA said there remains the potential for very high runoff in a huge portion of eastern Saskatchewan that stretches as far north as Hudson Bay and south to the Weyburn area.
There is above average runoff expected in the Estevan area although there are concerns the high runoff around Weyburn will, or likely already is, having an impact on the situation locally.
The report indicated that both local reservoirs are at, or near, capacity. There is still a very good possibility that water will spill over the Boundary Dam spillway which could complicate matters further.
The RM of Estevan has also been forced into action because of water issues. Monday, the gravel road near the Doug Third Hall in Woodlawn Park was closed and a backhoe was used to create a channel for the water that is coming from Estevan as part of the Shirley Creek outflow. The RM also noted as far as activity along the river in concerned they can handle a flow of 60cms but 100cms could create some potential issues.
