Lake of the Woods Secretariat - Notice Board Updates 2024.10.17 Conditions Update and Lac Seul Outflow Changes

Oct 17, 2024 03:07 pm

Moderate rainfall earlier this week provided some relief to dry conditions but flows across the basin remain low. The forecast remains generally dry with the exception of a rainfall event October 22^nd and 23^rd. Weekly totals from the forecast could reach up to 75 mm around Lac Seul and 20-40 mm around Lake of the Woods. This is expected to temporarily increase inflows before dry conditions return.

The current level of Lake of the Woods is 322.69 m (1058.69 ft), a 25^th percentile level, in the low-normal range for this time of year. The average lake level decreased 1 cm (<0.5 in) over the last week and is expected to remain stable or decrease by 1 cm (<0.5 in). Authorized outflow is 150 m³/s with no changes scheduled.

There are full station outages planned next week from October 15^th to 18^th 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:

• On October 17^th a 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:

• On October 17^th an increase of 12 cm (5 in) followed by a similar decrease after the outage is completed that day.
• On October 18^th 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 356.20 m (1168.64 ft), a 35^th 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 1 to 3 cm (>0.5 to 1 in). Lac Seul authorized outflow is will decrease to 300 m³/s Thursday October 17^th.