The Winnipeg River basin received more precipitation than was expected over the last week, especially in the North and East.

There are two systems in the forecast potentially bringing more precipitation, with totals for the upcoming week between 30 and 40 mm. Much of this precipitation is expected to fall Friday April 26th through Saturday April 27th with more coming early next week.

Tributary flows, and lake inflows and levels have started rising into the normal range. The rain has helped the basin recover from the below average snowpack and lack of runoff from snowmelt. However, continued rainfall into May and June will be required to sustain normal flows and levels throughout the spring and summer.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.48 m (1058.01 ft), a 40^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 2 cm (1 in) over the last week and is expected to increase 5 to 11 cm (2 to 4 in) over the next week, depending on precipitation amounts. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes scheduled.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.74 m (1163.85 ft), a 35^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. Lake inflows and levels increased rapidly over the last week in response to higher-than-expected precipitation amounts. The lake level increased by 10 cm (4 in) over the past week and is expected to increase by 12 to 18 cm (5 to 7 in). Lac Seul authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes currently scheduled.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.46 m (1057.94 ft), a 35^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 3 cm (1.2 in) over the last week and is expected to increase 1 to 3 cm (0.4 to 1.2 in) over the next week, depending on precipitation amounts. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes scheduled..

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.64 m (1163.52 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is at the bottom of the normal range for this time of year. The lake level increased by 5 cm (2 in) over the past week and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next week depending on precipitation amounts. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes currently scheduled.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.43 m (1057.84 ft), a 30^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 1 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, increasing by up to 6 cm (2.4 in) over the next week, depending on precipitation amounts. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow was decreased to 150 m³/s on Wednesday, April 10^th.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.56 m (1163.25 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is at the bottom of the normal range for this time of year. The lake level declined by 3 cm (1.2 in) over the past week and is expected to remain relatively stable, increasing up to 3 cm (1.2 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes currently scheduled.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.42 m (1057.8 ft), a 35^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 1 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, increasing by up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow will decrease to 175 m³/s on Monday, April 8^th and to 150 m³/s on Wednesday, April 10^th.

Each of these flow changes will cause the level of the Winnipeg River to decrease by approximately 3 cm (1 in) directly downstream of the Norman Dam and by 1 cm (0.5 in) above the Dalles. The level at Minaki will not be affected by these flow changes.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.59 m (1163.35 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is at the bottom of the normal range for this time of year. The lake level declined by 1 cm (0.5 in) over the past week and is expected to remain relatively stable, increasing up to 1 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes currently scheduled.

The Winnipeg River basin is experiencing a temporary return to winter conditions. Temperatures over the past week were much colder than normal, with daytime highs ranging from -4 to -10 degrees Celsius, and over the last couple days, a Colorado Low slowly travelled across the basin, bringing 10 to 25 cm of snow. These conditions have caused a delay in spring inflows and at the current rates of outflow, levels on both Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul continue to decline. To slow or stop this decline and prepare the lakes for refill, small outflow reductions will be scheduled this week and next.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.43 m (1057.8 ft), a 40^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 2 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, declining by up to 1.5 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow will decrease to 225 m³/s on Thursday, March 28^th and to 200 m³/s on Tuesday, April 2^nd.

Each of these flow changes will cause the level of the Winnipeg River to decrease by approximately 5 cm (2 in) directly downstream of the Norman Dam and by 2 cm (0.5 in) above the Dalles. The level at Minaki will not be affected by these flow changes.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.60 m (1163.4 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is at the bottom of the normal range for this time of year. The lake level declined by 4 cm (1.5 in) over the past week and is expected to decline by 1 to 2 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow will decrease to 150 m³/s on Thursday, March 28^th.

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The LWCB Basin Data page will not be updated on Friday, March 29^th (Good Friday is a holiday in Canada) or on Monday, April 1^st (Easter Monday is also a holiday). Daily data updates and publication will resume on Tuesday, April 2^nd.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.4 m (1057.9 ft), a 45^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 2 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, declining by up to 1.5 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is 250 m³/s with no changes scheduled at this time.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.63 m (1163.5 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is at the bottom of the normal range for this time of year. The lake level declined by 3 cm (1 in) over the past week and is expected to remain relatively stable, declining by up to 3 cm (1 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 175 m³/s with no changes scheduled at this time.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.46 m (1057.9 ft), a 45^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 2 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, holding steady or declining 1 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is schedule to decrease to 275 m³/s on Thursday, March 14^th, and to 250 m³/s on Monday, March 18^th.

Each of these flow changes will cause the level of the Winnipeg River to decrease by approximately 5 cm (2 in) directly downstream of the Norman Dam and by 2 cm (0.5 in) above the Dalles. The level at Minaki will not be affected by these flow changes.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.66 m (1163.58 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is below normal for this time of year. The lake level declined by 6 cm (2.4 in) over the past week and is expected to decline by 2 to 3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 175 m³/s with no changes scheduled as this time.

Spring Regulation Strategy

On March 5, the LWCB held its spring Regulation Meeting in Kenora, attended by specific interest groups and resource agencies, and adopted its Spring Regulation Strategy. The strategy outlines regulation targets for various inflow conditions for the period of March to the end of June. The Secretariat presented data and statistics on the extremely low snowpack, unusual winter rain events and record breaking high air temperatures experienced over the winter. Many meeting attendees provided observations on the mild winter conditions and voiced their concern for dry conditions persisting into the spring.

For Lake of the Woods, the strategy targets a normal level for end of March, slightly higher than the target last year, to maintain storage in case of continued dry conditions. Although there is some snowpack locally around Lake of the Woods, the Rainy-Namakan basin upstream has very little to no snow on the ground. Spring outflows from Rainy Lake are expected to remain low, providing less inflow than usual to Lake of the Woods for the lake to refill this spring.

For Lac Seul, the strategy targets mid-April levels that are slightly lower than the preferences for fish spawning, due to the lack of inflow over the winter and persisting dry conditions since last year in this part of the basin. Inflows to Lac Seul have been below normal over the course of the winter and the snowpack is lower than or close to normal in some areas. Outflows have been reduced over the month of February to stop lake level drawdown and hedge against the risk of low spring inflows.

A significant precipitation event hit the basin late Saturday March 2^nd with the highest amounts of precipitation, in the form of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain, observed North of Atikokan. Precipitation continued through Monday March 4^th with totals at Kenora of 6 cm and at Ear Falls of 7.7 cm. As temperatures fluctuated during the event some of this precipitation came in the form of rain, especially for the southern regions of the basin.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.48 m (1058.0 ft), a 45^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 2 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, holding steady or declining 1 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is 350 m³/s. Outflow reductions to 325 m³/s and 300 m³/s are scheduled for Friday March 8th and Monday March 11th respectively.

Each of these flow changes will cause the level of the Winnipeg River to decrease by approximately 5 cm (2 in) directly downstream of the Norman Dam and by 2 cm (0.5 in) above the Dalles. The level at Minaki will not be affected by these flow changes.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.71 m (1163.75 ft), a 25^th percentile level, which is below normal for this time of year. The lake level declined by 4 cm (1.5 in) over the past week and is expected to decline by 1 to 2 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 225 m³/s with an outflow decrease to 175 m³/s scheduled for Friday March 8th.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.5 m (1058.07 ft), a 40^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 1 cm (0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable, declining 2 cm (1 in) or increasing by 1 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is 350 m³/s with no changes scheduled at this time.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.75 m (1163.88 ft), a 20^th percentile level, which is below normal for this time of year. The lake level declined by 6 cm (2.5 in) over the past week and is expected to decline by 2 to 6 cm (1 to 2.5 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 225 m³/s with no changes scheduled at this time.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.51 m (1058.1 ft), a 40^th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 2 cm (1 in) over the last week and is expected to decline by 1 to 2 cm (0.5 to 1 in) over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow is 350 m³/s with no changes scheduled at this time.

The current level of Lac Seul is 354.81 m (1164.1 ft), a 20^th percentile level, which is below normal for this time of year. The lake level declined by 8 cm (3 in) over the past week and is expected to decline by 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 225 m³/s with no changes scheduled at this time.