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callinglakes.com Katepwa Beach. Katepwa Beach. The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed water At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use. South Saskatchewan River Water diversion from South Saskatchewan River Runoff from Rocky Mountains Eyebrow Lake Buffalo Pound Lake Moose Jaw Last Mountain Lake Regina Beach Lumsden Regina Fort Qu'Appelle Melville Yorkton Qu'Appelle River 1 2 6 10 11 1 Gardiner Dam Water supply to cities and industry Potash mine Saskatchewan R. R. R. South Sask Sask North Edmonton Calgary Saskatoon Prince Albert Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba British Columbia Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg Watershed boundary 400 500 600 300 millimetres per year Annual precipitation Saskatchewan River watershed R. Regina Qu' Appelle atch atch ewan ewan To Assiniboine River Moose Jaw U.S.A. Lake Diefenbaker Gardiner Dam and Lake Diefenbaker. Gardiner Dam and Lake Diefenbaker. Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration R. Lagace J.P. Goossen, Environment Canada R. Turner (GSC 2003-504B) R. Turner (GSC 2003-504I) D. MacDougall, SiR . . . . . . . . . . . . - The many ways we depend on the Saskatchewan River system The Saskatchewan River system is the most reliable source of good-quality water in southern Saskatchewan. Over 30 communities, including Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, the Battlefords, and Moose Jaw, draw their water from the river system. River water is increasingly used to irrigate farmland and generate hydroelectric power. Where streams don’t flow to the sea Most rivers run to the sea. However, there are large areas of southern Saskatchewan where the drainage is internal and water does not escape to the sea. Such areas are rare elsewhere in Canada. Runoff within these internal drainage basins can produce saline lakes surrounded by white salt crusts. Dissolved salts are transported in surface and ground waters to the lakes. As the lakes have no outlet stream, the salts are trapped, and concentrated by ongoing evaporation of the lake waters. North Saskatchewan River South Saskatchewan River Churchill River Mississippi River Assiniboine River Lake Winnipeg Saskatchewan River Qu'Appelle River Regina Saskatoon Internal- drainage basin River-basin boundary J. Dale Sodium-sulphate lake. Sodium-sulphate lake. A continental divide in southern Saskatchewan The well known continental divide in the Rockies separates streams that flow west to the Pacific from streams flowing east to Hudson Bay. Another continental divide separates waters bound for the Gulf of Mexico from those that flow north to Hudson Bay. Where is this divide? ? Where does your water come from? Every day we drain the sink, tub, and toilet. Where does your water come from? Where does your waste water go? ? Watering a dry land Water has always been the limiting resource for prairie life — where there was sufficient water, ranches, farms, and towns sprang up. Because rainfall in southern Saskatchewan is meagre, most streams are small and originate from spring snowmelt. Many streams also receive flow from springs that help maintain a base water level throughout the year. Local streams and springs support marshy sloughs filled with the chatter of birds, and saline lakes with salt-encrusted shores. The vital exception is the Saskatchewan River system, which crosses Saskatchewan carrying waters from the far-off Rocky Mountains.

Watering a dry land - Saskatchewan Geological Society · was sufficient water, ranches, farms, and towns sprang up. Because rainfall in southern Saskatchewan is meagre, most streams

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Page 1: Watering a dry land - Saskatchewan Geological Society · was sufficient water, ranches, farms, and towns sprang up. Because rainfall in southern Saskatchewan is meagre, most streams

calli

ng

lake

s.co

m

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

ca

llin

gla

ke

s.c

om

Katepwa Beach.Katepwa Beach.

The Qu’Appelle River: borrowed

water

At the end of the last ice age, the South Saskatchewan River flowed down the Qu’Appelle River valley. Today, 11 500 years later, about one per cent of the South Saskatchewan River is diverted into the Qu’Appelle River. Here, a series of reservoirs and lakes are used for recreation, irrigation, and industrial and municipal use.

SouthSaskatchewan

RiverWater

diversionfrom South

SaskatchewanRiver

Runoff fromRocky Mountains

EyebrowLake

BuffaloPoundLake

Moose Jaw

LastMountain

LakeReginaBeach

Lumsden

Regina

FortQu'Appelle

Melville

Yorkton

Qu'Appelle River

1

2

6

10

11

1

GardinerDam

Water supply tocities and industry

Potashmine

Saskatchewan R

.

R.

R.

Sou

th

Sask

Sask

North

Edmonton

CalgarySaskatoon

PrinceAlbert

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

BritishColumbia

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

Watershedboundary

400 500 600300

millimetres per year

Annual precipitation

SaskatchewanRiver watershed

R.

Regina

Qu'Appelleatch

atch

ewan

ewan

ToAssiniboine

River

MooseJaw

U.S.A.

LakeDiefenbaker

Gardiner Dam andLake Diefenbaker.Gardiner Dam andLake Diefenbaker.

Pra

irie

Fa

rmR

eh

ab

ilita

tio

n A

dm

inis

tra

tio

n

R. Lagace

J.P. Goossen, Environment Canada

R. Turner (GSC 2003-504B)

R. Turner (GSC 2003-504I)

D. MacDougall, SiR

..

..

..

..

..

..

-

The many ways we depend on the

Saskatchewan River system

The Saskatchewan River system is the most reliable source of good-quality water in southern Saskatchewan. Over 30 communities, including Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, the Battlefords, and Moose Jaw, draw their water from the river system. River water is increasingly used to irrigate farmland and generate hydroelectric power.

Where streams don’tflow to the sea

Most rivers run to the sea. However, there are large areas of southern Saskatchewan where the drainage is internal and water does not escape to the sea. Such areas are rare elsewhere in Canada. Runoff within these internal drainage basins can produce saline lakes surrounded by white salt crusts. Dissolved salts are transported in surface and ground waters to the lakes. As the lakes have no outlet stream, the

salts are trapped, and concentrated by ongoing evaporation of the lake waters.

NorthSaskatchewan

River

SouthSaskatchewan

River

ChurchillRiver

Mississippi River

AssiniboineRiver

LakeWinnipeg

SaskatchewanRiver

Qu'Appelle River

Regina

Saskatoon

Internal-drainagebasin

River-basinboundary

J. D

ale

Sodium-sulphate lake.Sodium-sulphate lake.A continental divide in southern SaskatchewanThe well known continental divide in the Rockies separates streams that flow

west to the Pacific from streams flowing east to Hudson Bay. Another continental divide separates waters bound for the Gulf of Mexico from

those that flow north to Hudson Bay. Where is this divide?

?

Where does your water come from?

Every day we drain the sink, tub, and toilet. Where does your water come from? Where

does your waste water go?

?

Watering a dry land

Water has always been the limiting resource for prairie life — where there was sufficient water, ranches, farms, and towns sprang up. Because rainfall in southern Saskatchewan is meagre, most streams are small and originate from spring snowmelt. Many streams also receive flow from springs that help maintain a base water level throughout the year. Local streams and springs support marshy sloughs filled with the chatter of birds, and saline lakes with salt-encrusted shores. The vital exception is the Saskatchewan River system, which crosses Saskatchewan carrying waters from the far-off Rocky Mountains.