Yellowknife (July 02/01) - Heavy snowfall in the North and a dry winter in the south has contributed to a hodgepodge of water level conditions across the NWT this summer.
According to Murray Jones from the Water Survey of Canada, while water levels on lakes and rivers North and east of Great Slave Lake remain exceptionally high, the Slave River is well below normal.
 The Slave River is primary source for both Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River. Both bodies of water are currently lower than normal. |
"Prosperous Lake has had an added little kick from snow melt further up North from the Yellowknife River."
Snow fall in the North Slave region was 35 per cent higher than normal, Jones said. Even though the snow pack in and around the Yellowknife area melted weeks ago, water continues to flow into the system from melting snow packs far North of the city.
The situation in the South Slave region is a set of different circumstances all together. A dry winter in the Northern woodlands of B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan has reduced the Slave River flowing into Great Slave Lake into a mere trickle of its usual self.
The Slave River is primary source for both Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie River, Jones said. Both bodies of water are currently lower than normal.
"The Mackenzie is 1/10 of a meter below the mean for the months of May and June," said Jones.
The Liard River was also similarly effected earlier in the year, but steady rainfall over the last two months has pushed it to above normal levels.
"With all the rain we've had early in the week the water's been high," said Floyd Bertrand, a forest manager with Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development out of Fort Liard.
"There was some logs and debris coming down but as of now, it's pretty much cleared up right now."
Roger Pilling, who operates the Fort Simpson branch of Water Survey, said the Liard River at its confluence with the Mackenzie is currently 15 per cent above the mean for this time of year, though only a few weeks ago it was 50 per cent below normal.
That translates out to 8000 cubic meters per second of water flow compared the norm of 6900 cubic meters.
Similarly, water levels on the Trout River were running higher than normal last June at 140 cubic meters per second compared to a mean of 99 cubic meters.
Even with higher water levels on many NWT lakes and rivers, one thing that appears unaffected is the fishing.
"The lake's pretty high right now," said Kakisa Lake resident Chris Chicot. "But the fishing's a little better than a couple of years ago."
