SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - After low water levels wreaked havoc on boat props on Great Slave Lake last summer, this year's low snowfall is causing concern that the situation may not be any better this summer.

Shawn McKnight, a dispatcher with Air Tindi, shows how far the water had dropped at the company's dock on Yellowknife Bay in October 2010. - NNSL file photo Water levels at ferry crossing April 7-14, 2011 - 150.8 to 151.15 metres April 7-14, 2010 - 150.85 to 151.0 metres November 17-30, 2010 - 149.2 to 149.9 metres November 17-30, 2009 - 149.7 to 150.2 metres Figures taken from Environment Canada's Water Office website. Figures are metres above sea level at the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence, which is how Environment Canada measures the water levels. The NWT Department of Transportation uses these figures to ensure the ferry service only crosses when levels are at 150 metres. Source: Environment Canada

Low and fluctuating water levels could also impact the Mackenzie River ferry crossing, which, if the Deh Cho Bridge is finished this coming winter as scheduled, will see its last season this year.

Currently, water levels at the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence are comparable to where they where this time last year, more than 150 metres above sea level which is the level needed for the Merv Hardie ferry service to run.

However, boaters on Great Slave Lake, such as commodore of the Great Slave Cruising Club, Jan Fullerton, are concerned they will see low water levels similar to what they experienced at the end of last summer. Fullerton said she has heard a lot of people are expecting the water levels to be low this year.

"I don't even want to think about that, as far as launching our boats. We're hoping to do some repairs to the dock this year and if we're able to do those, it won't make the water deeper but it might make the front of the dock a bit better," she said.

"We've been talking about different options because we know it's an issue."

Albert Pakay, a crane operator with Territorial Crane Service, launches the larger boats from a dock near Giant Mine. He said he can inch the bigger sailboats out a bit further once they're in the water if the levels are low, but not by much.

"As soon as I get some of the boat in the water, it takes some of the weight off the crane," said Pakay. "Then I can send it out further. It's still got to go in the water pretty much where they usually do."

Fullerton said her concerns are not so much about lifting the boats into the water as they are about the shallower depths the sailors will be dealing with.

"There's the fact that the charts that you normally rely on, that aren't 100 per cent reliable anyway. There's new terrain to deal with," she said.

Floatplane pilots are trained to spot the best places to land, and to avoid low water areas, according to president and chief operating officer of Air Tindi, Peter Arychuk.

"They've got pretty good visibility of a lot of the reefs and that. We can see them clearly from the floatplane. Getting to the shoreline and whatnot is going to be a little more difficult," said Arychuk. "We're all going to have to be a little more careful of where we're landing or where we're boating. We haven't seen it this low in many years."

According to Environment Canada spokesperson Yvonne Bilan-Wallace, snowfall in the Yellowknife area has been lower than average this winter. She said there was 17 centimetres of snow on the ground at the end of the March, when the norm is usually around 37 centimetres.

Hay River, however, acquired 38 centimetres of snow on the ground at the end of March, only a bit under the average 42 centimetres.

According to a GNWT official, low water levels can be attributed to the significantly lower snow levels, the damming effect of the frozen Mackenzie River and last summer's low rainfall amounts in drainage areas feeding Great Slave Lake.

"You start with very low water levels in Great Slave Lake, you add to that low snowfall levels in the basin feeding into all of that and then you add to that the damming effect of the ice and that's where we have the potential for insufficient water for our ferry," said Earl Blacklock, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation.

He said once the damming effect of the ice is broken up in the spring, water levels will rise.

According to the department's website, the ice crossing at the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence was officially closed as of 2 p.m. Monday. The usual closure of the ice road is around April 16, according to Blacklock.

Blacklock said Great Slave Lake has been experiencing historically low and fluctuating water levels. If they continue, the operation of the Merv Hardie ferry, which crosses the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence, could be delayed past its usual start time of mid-May.

Low water levels caused a ferry shutdown last November for nine days, which subsequently led to a panic among motorists as gas supplies dwindled.

"We're just asking people to be prepared," said Blacklock.

Blacklock said through observing Environment Canada's water office website, the department could see water levels dip below 149.4 metres above sea level on March 10, causing them to issue a warning that the ferry system might be late in starting this season. The ferry can only run when it is at 150 metres.

Around the same time period in 2010, the water levels did not dip lower than 150.6 metres above sea level.

"The trend this year is all over the map so that's why we're just cautioning people there's a possibility to a late start to our season. If the trend stays where it is right now we're fine because we're well over the 150 (metres)," said Blacklock.

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