The basin received moderate precipitation over the last week. As a result, inflows to the major lakes have remained high. Levels on Rainy and Namakan lakes as well as Lake of the Woods continue to decrease. With a large rainfall event forecast for July 27th and 28th, conditions will remain wet. This rainfall event will cause inflows to temporarily increase and will likely cause Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods levels to stabilize or increase.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 323.31 m (1060.72 ft), an 80th percentile level for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 2 cm (1 in) over the last week and could decrease by 2 cm (1 in) or increase by 5 cm (2 in), over the next week, depending on precipitation amounts . Lake of the Woods outflow is 1062 m3/s with all sluices fully open at the Norman Dam in Kenora. The dams cannot be opened any more and outflow will rise and fall with the lake level.
With the Norman Dam fully open, outflows will change with lake levels and so will levels along the Winnipeg River.
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.36 m (1169.16 ft), a 30th 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 by 4 cm (1.5 in) or decrease by 1 cm (0.5 in) over the next week. Lac Seul authorized outflow is 350 m3/s with no additional changes currently scheduled.