The dams and reservoirs are used for irrigation and hydroelectricity generation. south saskatchewan river in downtown saskatoon with riverboat - south saskatchewan river stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. The water would become warm, covered with algae. After 150 years of settlement in the mercurial west, we cannot answer the one question most basic to our livelihood: will there always be enough water? “They are already overallocated on the Oldman and Bow rivers and borrowing from the Red Deer to pay the ‘bill’ to Saskatchewan,” says Bruneau, who can foresee a day when Alberta will want to buy some of Saskatchewan’s share. We put together a story map to bring attention to Flowering Rush as well as our survey and eradication project. David Thompson was the first European explorer to travel the extent of the South Saskatchewan and up the Bow River, a major headwater tributary. Meanwhile, the whole gamut of processes by which water moves from the air to the ground and back is being studied at Marmot Creek, and similar work is being done at nine other research sites from Idaho to the High Arctic. 8, Saskatchewan, T1A 0A8, Canada ( 50.89652 -108.47683 ) The South Saskatchewan River is home to warm-water fish species such as northern pike, walleye, goldeye, yellow perch, quillback, shorthead redhorse and the endangered lake sturgeon, while cold-water species such as several species of trout, mountain whitefish and longnose sucker inhabit upstream mountain tributaries. Halliday hazards a guess that the Saskatchewan River may be the largest inter-jurisdictional basin in the world without one. This report will provide recommendations for recreation and leisure within the river valley and act as a guideline to enhance the use of and connectivity to the South Saskatchewan River. It gains hardly any new water once it leaves Alberta, skirting semi-deserts and many areas of internal drainage that donate hardly a drop to the passing river. Naturally, trees consume water themselves and transpire it into the air. So if trees use so much water, how about cutting some? A good place to begin a search for answers is on the river itself. Pomeroy helps run two large research networks that use the Marmot data, the Drought Research Initiative and the IP3 Network. Flowering Rush can: Grow prolifically in Alberta irrigation is the single largest consumer of South Saskatchewan River water. In 1967, the province finished two dams to trap the river for electrical power and to slake the municipal thirst of Regina and points south. Much of the native prairie grasslands in the basin have been converted and wetlands drained for agricultural use. The native prairie consists of grasses, including spear grass and wheat grass; however, much of the native grassland has been converted for agriculture. A major centre of water research in Canada, the school has, in recent years, aggressively recruited rock-star-status academics from all over the world. South Saskatchewan River BasinLearn more about the river’s basin from this government of Alberta website. The RCGS is a registered charity. The name, pretty to my ear, is from the Cree for “swift water,” and it is fittingly lent to a whole province where all of us — plants, animals, people — owe our livelihood to the precious flow its two arms carry out to us from the mountains. Such valleys serve as stone cisterns, where winter’s snows are caught and stored up until spring melt. Municipal wastewater can contain contaminants, including those from pharmaceutical and personal care products, as well as endocrine-disrupting compounds. When it comes to water, getting the big picture is never easy. Sixty-five percent of Canada’s irrigated farm acreage is in southern Alberta, and by interprovincial agreement, the province is allowed to consume up to half of the river flow. In Canada, such basics fall between administrative cracks all too often. Despite our low regional population in the west, we manage to consume about one-third of its flow, which has dropped naturally by 12 percent in the last century. While summer-starved Canadians are making potato salad and twisting beer caps, I am standing at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, preparing to climb back into winter. Even though Alberta stopped issuing new water licences in the South Saskatchewan River Basin in 2006, room to grow comes from “efficiencies” — converting leaky, evaporation-prone canals to low-loss pipeworks. The Water Security Agency and the Government of Saskatchewan accepts no liability for the accuracy, availability, suitability, reliability, usability, completeness or timeliness of the data or graphical depictions rendered from the data. The coyotes sing, the stars blaze, and it is possible to think the west is still wild. Frankly, the jury is still out on whether it can be done.”. In the widest part of the reservoir, deep-keel yachts sail out of the farming-turned-marina town of Elbow. Saskatchewan River. We park and begin a tedious march up the resort service road to reach deep snow. Around Riverhurst, the sandy, flat banks resemble those of the Nile seen from a felucca, minus the pyramids. In fact, irrigation is still expanding. Combined, they will be used to better predict tomorrow’s weather or how much river water will flow in the future. Upstream of Banff, only one stream is gauged. “We also like to have our water essentially free of charge, or close to it. “You have to crawl before you can walk.”. We pass down out of the high-and-dry ranch country into fields where irrigation booms send their beneficial spray ssst-ssst-ssst over verdant crops, to the rim of the great valley. Things to Do on The South Saskatchewan River. We further acknowledge and recognize that our work reaches across all of the distinct First Nations, Métis Homelands and Inuit Nunangat, and for this we are grateful. Newton, Brandi. The Saskatchewan River is formed by the confluence of the North and South Saskatchewan rivers, the headwaters of which are in the Rocky Mountains. Today, electronic data loggers wirelessly transmit data down the mountain, saving much of the legwork, but each site must still be visited about every 10 days. (Photo: Nayan Sthankiya). Saskatoon is the de facto capital of the Saskatchewan River Basin. Downstream of Saskatoon, as the prairie transitions to boreal forest, the vegetation shifts to willow, aspen and shrubs. Flowering Rush was first detected in the South Saskatchewan River by the Alberta Invasives Species Council. When the reckoning comes, it will surely come first to our dryland river. “Our data are piecemeal, just like our fragmented jurisdictions,” she says. Meanwhile, says Lamb, we still have glaring gaps in our most basic knowledge. Disclaimer. Pomeroy’s hanging-tree experiment has shown that up to half the snow falling into heavily treed valleys can literally vanish into thin air. In, Newton, Brandi, "South Saskatchewan River". (Photo: Nayan Sthankiya), Owned and operated by Barry Cafferata and his family for the last 26 years, Lakeside Marina Services rents yachts and other luxury boats to sail out onto the South Saskatchewan River. And there is the muddy, green, cool, reliable South Saskatchewan River. Interesting facts about Saskatchewan – you can float in Little Manitou Lake because of its saltiness. FactSnippet No. Characterized by the South Saskatchewan River (yea, the same river that followed us here to Edmonton :)), and with over 80 bridges, Saskatoon was home to us for 3.50 years and had treated us really nice. Here, the Gardiner Dam electrical sub station sits near the shore of the South Saskatchewan. The South Saskatchewan River is formed by the junction of the Bow and Oldman rivers, the headwaters of which are in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. With human-driven climate change expected to hit hard in Palliser’s drought-prone west, we here are taking stock of the one natural resource on which our whole economic future rests. Whether it is right to cut protected forests to compensate for mismanagement of downstream water is another matter. But his report suggests the challenges are here and now. Check out these 25 fun, weird and interesting facts about Saskatoon to get a sense of the city. Surely our actual water use is too widely discussed, too vital a statistic here in Palliser country, to be an unknown. The sight, when we come to it, is macabre. RESULTS OF LONG-TERM TREND ANALYSES FOR MEDIAN MONTHLY FLOW IN THE UPPER-SOUTH SASKATCHEWAN RIVER SUB-BASIN. My sailing pal Mark and I silently scan the treeless, cactus-sage hills ahead, home to bull snake and burrowing owl. 5 Facts About Saskatchewan River. Some 65 faculty positions are linked with water science and, arguably, the best collection of water-research facilities in the land. “There’s no way we can double that. In May, the university bought full-page newspaper ads to trumpet the arrival of sustainable-water luminary Howard Wheater, late of Imperial College London, and $30 million in funding for a new water-security institute. In the rear-view mirror, the boat on its trailer tugs to and fro like a worried pony being led into danger. (Photo: Nayan Sthankiya), The South Saskatchewan provides water for irrigation in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Hydrologist John Pomeroy, his assistant May Guan and I zip gaiters over our boot tops, strap snowshoes onto our rucksacks and begin to climb the Marmot Creek Basin in the Kananaskis foothills west of Calgary. Some water is taken up by growing plants, some evaporates or is lost from leaking canals, and much simply flows back to the river. “The idea that shrinking glaciers are causing the river to dry up is a misconception,” says Pomeroy, who directs the University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology, holds a Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change and leads the research here in the Marmot Creek Basin. What it may lack in cutting-edge accuracy, it will make up for in accessibility and speed, allowing non-specialist users such as rural municipalities and local developers to see how their plans will affect the river. The city is home to the closest thing that exists to a river head office. The true danger is hard to know. river valley, there is a disconnect between the river and the community; Medicine Hat’s greatest asset is underutilized. A 2009 report by World Wildlife Fund Canada called it the country’s most-threatened river. Working together, Pomeroy and Guan sound the snowpack with a metal probe, cut core samples and weigh them. Started in 2006 to help celebrate Saskatoon’s city centennial, the trip included local historians relating stories of history associated with the river in the vicinity of Saskatoon. Hawks ride thermals over the baking prickly pear cactus on the south-facing banks. Trees are the real smoking gun in this whodunit. The fish would die.”, It is Queen Victoria’s birthday. It is an imposing, dramatic presence in an otherwise demure landscape. LAND AND WATER -one half is forest, one third is farmland-over 100,000 lakes, rivers, streams-northern Saskatchewan - forests, marshes, lakes, rivers-southern region - mainly flat prairie with some rolling hills and valleys-sand dunes 30 m. high at Athabasca Provincial Park in northwest Saskatchewan It flows in the very cells of our children. And then we seem to find ourselves in a regatta off the California coast. Users typically meter their intake pipes, but the standards for reporting are lax, and withdrawal numbers alone cannot tell us actual water use. This multifaceted adventure on the South Saskatchewan River packs a lot into one day. The drought of 1999-2004, the most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history, reduced the GDP by nearly $6 billion. The city of Saskatoon is also known as "the city of bridges", it lies on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River and has wide, tree-lined streets amid vast parks and green spaces. Thinking about the river as a whole system is one thing; actually managing it that way is still a far-off dream. Its unique name (originally used for a district of the Northwest Territories in 1882), comes from an English version of a Cree word, kisiskâciwanisîpiy which means “swiftly flowing river”. The river is odd by nature too. “No one does.” Her assertion catches me off guard. The denser the upslope forest, the less water flows down to the river. There are several lakes in the same general area including Lenore Lake, Quill Lakes and Basin and Middle Lakes which are most excellent birding areas. The Qu’Appelle River Dam controls flows in the Qu’Appelle River and the Gardiner Dam controls flows in the South Saskatchewan River. In 2018, we started to survey the spread starting in the Leader area. Mark’s keen eye spots whitetail deer and pronghorn antelope foraging on the bluffs. Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. The water under our hull, which has travelled through rugged clay canyons from the river’s birthplace in Alberta, at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman rivers, has already survived its greatest ordeal. The South Saskatchewan River basin, originates in mixed grasslands at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman rivers. The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ice breaks and dangerous conditions in Saskatoon, Medicine Hat and elsewhere. For years a poor cousin to its western neighbour, Saskatchewan has seen its economic fortunes rise meteorically, and some farmers have called on government to directly match Alberta’s irrigation investment. “Certainly actual use is rarely measured,” confirms Robert Halliday, author of the Partners’ report, when I go to see him for clarification. “We must start thinking of this river as a whole system, not in terms of political boundaries, if we are going to manage it sustainably.” The Partners organization tries to do just that, bringing together government water agencies from the three prairie provinces, special-interest groups such as Ducks Unlimited Canada and individual citizens from across the west. Circular spray booms have turned the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat corridor into high-value green polka dots of corn, potatoes and beets; the highway is strung with french-fry factories and vast intensive livestock operations. “Nobody told the river there are borders,” says Lamb from her glass-walled riverbank office. One solution is a central management authority. In Saskatchewan, we may envy Alberta’s canals, but by far the most visible exploitation of the river is our own. Yet record rains this year have caused floods and widespread crop damage. The massive reservoir corrals a whole summer’s runoff, to be meted out in doses by the Gardiner Dam the rest of the year. European exploration and settlement also brought diseases that decimated First Nations populations, including smallpox outbreaks in 1780, 1838, 1856 and 1869. jim pattison children's hospital under construction in saskatoon - south saskatchewan river stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. People along Saskatoon's Meewasin Trail were treated to an interesting sight Thursday afternoon when a moose decided to take a walk down the middle of the South Saskatchewan River. “A lot of civilizations have ended because they screwed up their water,” says Pomeroy as we ready ourselves to begin the descent, following this humble bellwether creek down toward the prairie, into its future. We stop to don our snowshoes but at this time of year we sink through the melting drifts and it is awkward scrambling over the bare spots — like mountain climbing in swim fins. Consumption figures are even noted in the Partners’ own 2009 state-of-the-basin study, “From the Mountains to the Sea.” Lamb is a very bright person, but in this instance, she must somehow be mistaken. He now breaks the spell with a declaration of his own, both on the forbidding landscape and on our middle-aged quest upon it. Since the future of the river is, in the broadest sense, a supply-demand equation, I set off to the university’s department of economics to find Joel Bruneau, co-editor of a comprehensive technical report called “Climate Change and Water Resources in the South Saskatchewan River Basin.” The ponytailed professor does his part to avert a hotter, drier future climate by getting around Saskatoon by bicycle year-round. If you ask a Saskatonian what she loves about her city, she will likely say, “The people … and the river.”. We ride our bicycles along its willow banks and mark the arrival of spring by the return of the pelicans that fish every day in the eddies below the weir. Consequently, flow is higher than normal during the winter, coinciding with peak electricity demand, and lower than normal during spring as reservoirs are filled to meet summer water demands. The South Saskatchewan has been compared to the Colorado, another Rocky Mountains-born river bringing wealth to dry country. Massive side canyons have only tiny rivulets at their bottoms — or none at all — and the river grows a mere two percent in volume on its journey through Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has been Canada’s central prairie province since 1905. (Photo: Nayan Sthankiya), The flow of the South Saskatchewan has dropped 12 percent in the last century, raising concerns that not enough is being done to protect the water source. Lake Winnipeg infamously fell between the government administrative cracks for 30 years until a band of citizens joined forces to rescue it (see “Forgotten lake,” Nov/Dec 2006). That, says Pomeroy, requires far more monitoring than we currently deploy, especially in these mountain basins that are the lifeblood of the prairie river. Like the imperilled polar bear, retreating Rockies glaciers have become emblematic of human-induced climate change. In 1690–92, Henry Kelsey became the first European to reach the South Saskatchewan River, aided by First Nations guides. After three sweaty hours, the view across the Kananaskis valley opens up and the stainless steel glint of scientific equipment can be seen in the stunted larch and fir ahead. The RCGS acknowledges that its offices are located on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Peoples, who have been guardians of, and in relationship with, these lands for thousands of years. Amid such climatic uncertainty, perhaps the real threats to the South Saskatchewan are not drought or flood, but ignorance and confusion. Across the water from downtown, the east bank of the river is graced by the elegant greystone architecture of the University of Saskatchewan. Water withdrawals in the South Saskatchewan River basin are the highest of any river basin in Canada, and since 2006 the basin has been closed to new water licenses in Alberta. Kit Hilsden shares some interesting facts about the South Saskatchewan River. Indeed, Pomeroy notes that thinning and partial clearing can theoretically double available runoff, and these techniques are used in the Upper Colorado River Basin to increase river flow. They heat up in the sun and melt snow wells around their trunks, and their roots create more pathways for water to travel underground. “Environment Canada has one high-altitude weather station in the Rockies. Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map. Mark and I launch our flat-bottom sailboat at Saskatchewan Landing, a historic ford that is now a provincial park. But beyond this thin data-gathering network, everything is guesswork. The river is fed by the Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and gets 95 percent of its flow from mountain snow and rain. Fisera Ridge is exposed to the full blast of high-mountain weather, and a battery of sensing equipment is in place to record the action. Water is so abundant across most of Canada that we have gotten away with such Byzantine management. I pray it will not have met that tappedout river’s sad fate by the time my son is an old man. To be fair, such jurisdictional fragmentation is the main obstacle to sustainable ecosystem management gen - erally, not just with the South Saskatchewan River. Nothing so transforms a place like water. The kids are there for the same reason I am, perhaps, to see whether someone is minding the store. There is no means to coordinate them. In general, the North Saskatchewan was favoured over the South Saskatchewan for travel and trade. Nonetheless, our own South Saskatchewan River is all spoken for and then some. Marmot Creek Basin (not to be confused with the similarly named Jasper National Park ski resort) is a rare exception. Subscribe to Can Geo Today >Digital Edition >Our FREE Newsletters >Cover Vote >. Actual consumption — withdrawals minus return flows — is about 33 percent. Like the Colorado, the South Saskatchewan is much diminished by humans. Swimming, golf and affordable cottaging are perks afforded by the impounded water. 9 Facts About North Saskatchewan River. “We are living in an area where a complex civilization has never been hosted. Saskatchewan is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in western Canada. Kelsey paddled the upper South Saskatchewan, then travelled overland within the basin. Canadian Geographic is a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, The Saskatoon weir (a small overflow dam) is a de rigueur photo stop on the South Saskatchewan River. Maybe we can someday reach a promised land called integrated water-resources management in the South Saskatchewan. Much of the eastern Canadian Rockies is under park protection, but reducing fire suppression — or the relentless march of the pine beetle — could have a similar effect. “Is taking half the water really a good thing?” wonders Halliday. Since none of this is measured, actual consumption is just an estimate based on assumptions. ​The South Saskatchewan River (1,392 km long) is a heavily utilized water source in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan and is a major tributary to the Saskatchewan River, ultimately discharging to Hudson Bay. In silence, we bump along the uneven pavement of a little-used secondary highway, watching the west turn almost to desert. Federal, provincial and municipal governments have spun a tangled web of legislation and programs to manage the river for a thousand uses: safe drinking, powerboat racing, industrial development, bird habitat, to name a few. Users should use the information on this website with caution and do so at their own risk. Der South Saskatchewan River (französisch rivière Saskatchewan Sud, dt. Endangered piping plovers are drawn to nest on the artificially wide sandy beaches but must cope with “managed” water that typically rises six metres. Saskatoon is named after mis-sask-quah-toomina, the Cree Indian name for the local Saskatoon berry – a sweet, violet coloured berry that grows wild. Prairie wetlands provide a breeding habitat for waterfowl and are home to balsam poplar, black spruce, jack pine, tamarack, aspen poplar, white birch and white spruce. Bison jumps and pounds were common for large communal hunts performed between tribes. Pomeroy is using the trickle of data off this mountain to drive new mathematical models that can predict the two most potent economic forces in Palliser’s west: river flow and drought. Read: 12 Fun & Unique Places to Visit in Saskatchewan. “In Canada, we like to have our ecosystems as intact as possible, which is a good thing,” says Pomeroy. We pass a well-known fish farm using the cold mountain runoff to raise the steelhead salmon often sold as “Lake Diefenbaker trout” on better restaurant menus in Saskatoon and Regina. The South Saskatchewan has been compared to the Colorado, another Rocky Mountains-born river bringing wealth to dry country. Canada Sep 4, 2020 South Saskatchewan River, Census Division No. We are bound for a station on Fisera Ridge at 2,318 metres, under the grey gaze of Mount Allan. It gathers and presents diverse watershed data in clear ways, on user-defined geographic scales. It flows east to Medicine Hat, Alberta, and turns northeast, crossing the Alberta-Saskatchewan border before being joined by the Red Deer River, then opens up to Lake Diefenbaker, a 225 km long reservoir formed by the Gardiner Dam, and continues through Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, before reaching The Forks at the confluence with the North Saskatchewan River and beginning of the Saskatchewan River. Declining water quantity may result in inadequate in-stream flow requirements to sustain aquatic species, including fish and benthic invertebrates. The sub-basin comprises the river reach of the South Saskatchewan River and its associated drainage area. In 1883, when the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Medicine Hat and crossed the South Saskatchewan River, a town site was established using the name from the Indian legends. Qu’Appelle River, tributary of the Assiniboine River, in southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba, Canada.From its source near The Elbow (a bend in the South Saskatchewan River) and Lake Diefenbaker, northwest of Moose Jaw, Sask., the river flows eastward for 270 miles (430 km) through several lakes and First Nations (Indian) reservations before joining the Assiniboine opposite … Monique Dubé, a Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Health Diagnosis, says we already have sufficient research to sustainably manage rivers. An entire Engelman spruce is hung from a kind of gallows. ... From this name is derived the name North Saskatchewan River, used as well for the South Saskatchewan River and the Saskatchewan River, and the province of that name. Hydrology is the science of how water moves over the land, and this place, Pomeroy assures me, “is where the action is.”. Agriculture and cities presently withdraw nearly 50 percent of the river’s flow. Find the perfect south saskatchewan river stock photo. (Photo: Nayan Sthankiya), The South Saskatchewan River is an aquatic playground for the province’s people. In a small mountain valley on the east flank of the Alberta Rockies, John Pomeroy leads the way down a path to The Tree. The answer, he says, is too important to leave to governments. We turn downstream instead, passing under a highvoltage line into an invented waterworld of another kind. The South Saskatchewan River basin includes the traditional territory of the Assiniboine, Cree and Ojibwa near the river’s confluence with the North Saskatchewan, the Blackfoot Confederacy to the west, and the Métis throughout. From The Forks, the newly formed Saskatchewan River flows east to Tobin Lake, a reservoir formed by the E.B. The 2012-14 SSRB Adaptation Project which extended the process to the Oldman and South Saskatchewan River sub-basins and introduced potential future climate variability and change into the discussion and analysis. We cannot have both anymore.” As for the muddy Saskatchewan, Pomeroy echoes a theme: we three million prairie folk are luckier than the roughly 30 million in the Colorado River Basin and face nothing like the hardship of the 2.1 billion who depend on Himalayan rivers. Both arms of the river, indeed, are born as streams from the ice cap, which supplies five to seven percent of the total flow. Introduction to Saskatchewan. While that looming threat could have grave consequences for the river in the not too distant future, we have hardly begun to understand the river of the present, let alone manage it. 4 WWF-Canada Freshwater Health Assessment for the South Saskatchewan River Basin Disclaimer: This analysis reflects currently available and accessible data as of May 23t, 2014. Water quality is negatively impacted by agricultural runoff, including pesticides and fertilizers as well as municipal wastewater and stormwater runoff to the river and its tributaries. The truth can simply vanish in the details. “The whole story is irrigation,” says Bruneau before I am quite seated in his office. I pray it will not have met that tappedout river’s sad fate by the time my son is an old man. Add in hundreds of NGOs or quasi-government advisory groups — like the basin Partners — and you have more cacophony than chorus. The South Saskatchewan River flows through an agriculturally productive region and is prone to periodic droughts and floods. Humans currently withdraw about 50 percent of the total South Saskatchewan flow. A flooded coulee now serves as a snug harbour, where the collection of pricey boats and their owners could be on Catalina Island. The South Saskatchewan River flows through an arid, but agriculturally productive and urbanized region of the Canadian prairies, and is subject to numerous environmental stressors that affect water quality and quantity. Mean flow is 280 m3/s, but varies throughout the year, largely controlled by several dams and reservoirs along the river system. And so it would be, were it not for the river. This is the bleach-bone heart of the Palliser Triangle, named for the British government scout who, in 1860, declared the area too dry for settlement. In. SASKATOON – The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency is increasing the outflow from the Gardiner Dam over the next few days, meaning another increase to the river level in Saskatoon. “Why doesn’t Agriculture Canada have monitoring stations in the Rockies, since so many farmers’ livelihoods depend on what happens here?”. But they get the bulk of their precious water from snowfall collected in a thousand little foothills valleys like this along the eastern Rocky Mountains. Climate change is projected to further decrease already strained water availability and increase the frequency of droughts as well as the frequency and magnitude of flooding. The South Saskatchewan River flows east to Medicine Hat then turns northeast to the Saskatchewan boundary.