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Rivers near record lows
CALEB BROUSSEAU makes his way down Williams Creek last year during an annual kayak race held in June. This June it was cancelled partly due to a low water level that was similar to it’s flow levels in August months. (AARON BROUSSEAU PHOTO)
[July 20, 2010 Terrace Standard]
The Skeena and Nass Rivers are near record low levels for the first time this year.
The low flow in those two rivers, along with the Stikine River, are a result of a below-normal accumulation of snow and above normal winter temperatures according an update on B.C. river conditions released by the province.
As of July 16, the discharge of the Skeena River was 923 cubic metres per second.
According to Luanne Chew, forecast hydrologist for the River Forecast Centre of the Ministry of Environment, this is still shy of a record low of about 800 cubic metres per second for this time of year.
In comparison, the average monthly discharge for the station in July, dating back to 1928, was 1,740 cubic metres per second with a range from 3,420 cubic metres per second to 871 cubic metres per second.
The Nass River, which has a smaller drainage, was at flow rate of about 1,200 cubic metres per second, compared to the record low of just under 1,000 cubic metres per second and the median of about 1,600 cubic metres per second, Chew said.
On July 13, the discharge of the Skeena River at Usk sat at 1,184 cubic metres per second and was still on the decline after falling from 1,311 cubic metres per second just 24 hours earlier, according to Environment Canada Hydrometric Data.
“We were surprised by how much response there was (in the rivers) to the recent warm weather,” explained Bill Kuhnke of Environment Canada.
“We got some melting of the high snow pack, not the season snow, but also some of the semi-permanent ice,” he said.
“I would expect that, compared to normal, there are going to be some pretty low flows along the Skeena throughout the summer,” he said.
The low flows in the Skeena, Nass and Stikine have resulted in the classification of all three rivers as being at Drought Level 3, or very dry conditions.
And the Ministry of Environment is projecting that the drought conditions will continue throughout the summer unless above normal rainfall occurs.
With the very dry conditions, people are being encouraged to undertake water conservation practices and could expect locally imposed water restrictions.
With files from the Northern View.
Read more: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/terracestandard/news/98726729.html
