Dry weather has continued over the past week with the brief rainfall providing minor relief. The forecast indicates minimal rainfall over the week and as such inflows will continue to be low.
The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.70 m (1058.7 ft), a 20th percentile level, in the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased 4 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, Lake of the Woods outflow will be reduced to 150 m3/s Friday October 11th.
As a result, levels along the Winnipeg River will decrease as follows:
- 3 cm (1 in) below the Norman Dam
- 1 cm (less than 0.5 in) below the Dalles
- The water level at Minaki will not be impacted by this outflow reduction.
There are full station outages planned next week from October 15th to 18th at the Norman Dam and Kenora Powerhouse, again for work being completed by the dam operators. These outages will cause temporary level fluctuations along the Winnipeg River. Because Lake of the Woods outflow is lower than it was back in September when similar outages were conducted, the expected change in Winnipeg River levels is less, as follows:
Directly downstream of the Norman Dam:
- From October 15th to 17th a daily decrease of up to 30 cm (12 in) followed by a similar increase after the outage is completed that day. Levels are expected to drop between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm daily.
Directly downstream of the Kenora Powerhouse:
- From October 15th to 17th a daily increase of 12 cm (5 in) followed by a similar decrease after the outage is completed that day.
- On October 18th a decrease of 5 cm (2 in) followed by a similar increase after the outage is completed that day.
Water levels further downstream at the Dalles are expected to fluctuate very little (not noticeable) and water levels at Minaki will not be affected by these outages.
The current level of Lac Seul is 356.26 m (1168.83 ft), a 40th percentile level, within the normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased by 5 cm (2 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, but has dropped slightly because of declining lake levels. There will be no outflow adjustments due to the dry conditions.
The LWCB Basin Data page will not be updated on Monday, October 14th (Thanksgiving, Canada). Daily data updates and publication will resume on Tuesday, October 15th.