The Lake of the Woods Control Board is hosting a public open house in Winnipeg on October 30th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Hampton Inn (Airport/Polo Park). See details below.
Board members and Secretariat staff will be available to review and discuss water level and flow conditions across the Winnipeg River basin, as well as answer any questions.
Dry weather has persisted over the past week and continues through the forecast period with the exception of potential rainfall on October 6th. These dry conditions along with upstream flow reductions from Rainy Lake are leading to continually decreasing inflows to Lake of the Woods. To balance outflows with inflows additional outflow reductions will be required.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.74 m (1058.85 ft), a 30th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased 5 cm (2 in) over the last week and is expected to remain stable or decrease by 2 cm (1 in). To continue to balance outflows and inflows, 3 outflow reductions are planned:
These outflow changes will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decrease as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.31 m (1168.99 ft), a 45th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 6 cm (2.5 in) over the past week and is expected to decrease 5 to 6 cm (2 to 2.5 in). Lac Seul authorized outflow is 350 m3/s with no changes scheduled.
Conditions in the South of the basin are forecast to remain dry over the next week. This will lead to decreasing levels on Lake of the Woods without further outflow reductions.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.79 m (1059 ft), a 35th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased 3 cm (1 in) over the last week and is expected to remain stable or decrease by 1 cm (less than 0.5 in). To reduce the rate of level decline, two outflow reductions are planned for next week:
These outflow changes will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decrease as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.36 m (1169.16 ft), a 45th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 3 cm (1 in) over the past week and is expected to decrease 1 to 3 cm (less than 0.5 in to 1 in). Lac Seul authorized outflow is 300 m3/s. An increase to 350 m3/s is scheduled for Monday September 30th.
The LWCB Basin Data page will not be updated on Monday, September 30th (Truth and Reconciliation Day, Canada). Daily data updates and publication will resume on Tuesday, October 1st.
After recent rainfall across the Winnipeg River basin last week, lake levels have increased slightly. The forecast indicates dry conditions for the next week which is expected to lead to decreasing inflows in the southern portion of the basin. In the northern portion of the basin inflows remain higher.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.81 m (1059.1 ft), a 35th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level remained stable over the last week and over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next week, increasing or decreasing by 1 cm (less than 0.5 in).
Outages are planned for the Norman Dam and Kenora Powerhouse as indicated in last week’s noticeboard post. Estimated changes in level downstream as a result of the outages can be found at the link above. After the work is completed at the Norman Dam on September 25th, outflow will be restored to 300 m3/s, a 25 m3/s decrease from flows before the outage.
This outflow decrease will mean that levels after the outage will be:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.37 m (1169.19 ft), a 45th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 7 cm (3 in) over the past week and is expected to decrease 2 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 in). Lac Seul authorized outflow is 300 m3/s. An increase to 350 m3/s is scheduled for Thursday September 26th.
The LWCB Basin Data page will not be updated on Monday, September 30th (Truth and Reconciliation Day, Canada). Daily data updates and publication will resume on Tuesday, October 1st.
The Winnipeg River Basin has received a significant amount of rain over the past 3 days, following several weeks of relatively dry weather. This rainfall has caused flows in tributaries to increase along with inflow to the main lakes. While some rain is expected today and tomorrow the following week is expected to return to dry weather.
As outflow from most lakes in the basin was low due to the dry weather, this rapid increase in flow has caused levels to climb. This increase will be temporary as dry weather is expected to cause flows to decrease over the coming week.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.83 m (1059.2 ft), a 35th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 1 cm (less than 0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next week, increasing or decreasing by 1 cm (less than 0.5 in) depending on rainfall.
The dam operator is planning work around the Norman Dam and Kenora Powerhouse for September 25th and 26th. This will require no flow through the structures for the duration of the work. The work at the Norman Powerhouse will be completed September 25th from 12:00 to 19:00 CDT. During this outage, outflow from Lake of the Woods will be reduced to 127 m3/s through the Kenora Powerhouse only. The work at the Kenora Powerhouse will be completed September 26th from 9:30 to 12:30 CDT. During this outage, outflow from Lake of the Woods will be 325 m3/s through the Norman Powerhouse only. Once both outages are complete, outflow from Lake of the Woods will be restored to the authorized 325 m3/s with flow through both the Norman Dam and Kenora Powerhouse.
These outages will cause temporary level fluctuations along the Winnipeg River as follows:
Directly downstream of the Norman Dam:
Directly downstream of the Kenora Powerhouse:
Above the Dalles:
The water level at Minaki will not be affected by these flow changes.
These level changes are estimates based on flow through the structures and actual level changes may vary. For any questions related to these outages, please contact the Secretariat by emailing secretariat@lwcb.ca or calling 1-800-661-5922.
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.34 m (1169.09 ft), a 40th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 3 cm (1 in) over the past week and is expected to increase 1 cm (less than 0.5 in) before decreasing by 1 to 3 cm (less than 0.5 to 1 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 300 m3/s with no changes scheduled.
Conditions have remained very dry over the past week and as a result inflows have continued to decline. The figure below shows the total precipitation over the last 3 days. This dry pattern has persisted since September 6th.
Although there is some potential for rainfall in the forecast, with outflow reductions from Rainy Lake, inflows to Lake of the Woods are expected to continue decreasing, requiring further outflow reductions.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.82 m (1059.1 ft), a 30th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 4 cm (1.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next week, increasing or decreasing by 2 cm (1 in) depending on rainfall. Outflow reductions at Lake of the Woods will continue to slow the rate of level decline. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow will decrease to:
The scheduled outflow reductions will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decline as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.31 m (1168.99 ft), a 30th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 3 cm (1 in) over the past week and is expected to decrease 1 to 5 cm (0.5 to 2 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 300 m3/s with no changes scheduled.
Although the basin is received some rainfall yesterday and more is expected today, dry conditions are expected to return next week and inflow to the major lakes will continue to decline.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.86 m (1059.3 ft), a 35th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 6 cm (2 in) over the last week and is expected to decrease by 2 to 3 cm (0.5 -1 in), over the next week. Outflow reductions at Lake of the Woods will continue to slow the rate of level decline. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow will decrease to:
The scheduled outflow reductions will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decline as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.34 m (1169.1 ft), a 30th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 4 cm (1.5 in) over the past week and is expected to decrease 1 to 2 cm (less than 0.5 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 350 m3/s and will decrease to 300 m3/s Saturday September 7th.
Although the basin is receiving some rainfall today, dry conditions are expected to return next week and inflow to the major lakes will continue to decline.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.92 m (1059.5 ft), an 45th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 8 cm (3 in) over the last week and is expected to decrease by 3 to 6 cm (1 to 2 in), over the next week. Outflow reductions at Lake of the Woods will continue to slow the rate of level decline. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow will decrease to:
The scheduled outflow reductions will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decline as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.38 m (1169.2 ft), a 30th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 2.5 cm (1 in) over the past week and is expected to remain stable over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 350 m3/s with no changes scheduled.
The LWCB Basin Data page will not be updated on Monday, September 2nd (Labour Day). Daily data updates and publication will resume on Tuesday, September 3rd.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 323.00 m (1059.7 ft), an 50th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 8 cm (3 in) over the last week and is expected to decrease by 2 to 5 cm (0.5 to 2 in), over the next week.
The basin received almost no precipitation over the past week, and only moderate amounts of rainfall are expected over the next week. Therefore, additional outflow reductions are required to continue to slow the rate of level decline on Lake of the Woods. Authorized outflow will decrease to:
The scheduled outflow reductions will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decline as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.41 m (1169.3 ft), a 35th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level declined by 0.5 cm (0.5 in) over the past week and is expected to remain stable over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 350 m3/s with no changes scheduled.
Inflow to Lake of the Woods has dropped extremely quickly, going from 80th to 40th percentile over the last week. The lake level has also declined rapidly coming down as much as 13 cm (5 in) over the last week and now sitting in the normal range. Weather forecasts for the Winnipeg River basin are hot and relatively dry for the next week. Therefore, to slow Lake of the Woods level decline, and balance outflow with inflow, additional outflow reductions are required next week.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 323.08 m (1059.9 ft), an 55th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 12 cm (4.5 in) over the last week and is expected to decrease by 4 to 7 cm (1.5 to 2.5 in), over the next week. Lake of the Woods authorized outflow will decrease to:
The scheduled outflow reductions will cause levels along the Winnipeg River to decline as follows:
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.41 m (1169.3 ft), a 35th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level increased by 2 cm (1 in) over the past week and is expected to remain stable over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 350 m3/s with no changes scheduled.
