The Water Security Agency released yesterday the Spring Runoff Forecast for 2022.

As of this March 1st report, the WSA is expecting a below to well below normal snowmelt runoff response over much of southern Saskatchewan.

"The reports show the levels are high," said Communications Manager, Sean Osmar. "At this point, we're not expecting any flooding, however, as anybody in Saskatchewan will tell you, the weather can change, so if we do see additional precipitation, more snow, more rain in the forecast, that, of course, can change, but as for our levels right now, we were very hot and dry for much of the summer and into the fall last year, so precipitations were low and soil moisture levels were very low going into freeze up."

This means it all depends on how much precipitation is yet to come this spring as well, and on how fast all this snow melts.

"There's more to it, obviously, but generally speaking, if it's a fast melt, that water will tend to sort of run off into the into the rivers and streams and lakes and dugouts, as opposed to a slower melt where it will have a chance to soak into the soil," he explained. "We st arted off fairly wet last year and then it just seemed to stop, and that's why we had that extended period of hot, dry weather earlier on in in May and June. It looked like it might be a normal or even maybe wetter than normal, but it certainly changed on us." 

Osmar said they are constantly monitoring the water situation for the province.

"And we use a variety of sources, including weather data from Environment Canada, the US Weather Service forecasting," he shared. "We also have boots on the ground. We have technicians and scientists out there actually measuring snow levels and water levels out there in the field. So this helps give us a fairly comprehensive look, but again it is a snapshot in time. Conditions can change."

He said their next report is expected for early April, which will provide another update after some of the melting has had a chance to occur.

"Hopefully by then it warms up a bit and we can see something else happening that will give us a better idea of the flow rates and the water levels and what we could see moving forward into spring."

For now, it's still winter. 

"We might still see some more snow come, which affects the moisture levels, the level of water for dugouts, for some of the farmers or producers out there as well."

Find the full  report HERE.