North Saskatchewan River Basin - Water Supply Forecasts

Natural runoff volumes for the March to September 2003 period are forecast to be much-below-average for the North Saskatchewan River basin (Table 6). Current forecasts in the basin range from 69 to 89 % of average. Current forecasted values for the March to September period for the North Saskatchewan River at Edmonton would rank 5th lowest in 84-years of record (1912-95). The February 1 forecasts are lower than volumes recorded over the same time period last year and higher than those recorded in 2001. Despite below-average to average snowpack in the plains areas of the North Saskatchewan River basin, much-below-average runoff is forecast in these areas due to the extremely dry soil moisture conditions. Current snowpack at the higher elevations in the basin is generally much-below-average for this time of year.