SASKATCHEWAN

Water Security Agency
July 6, 2020

Continued Safety Warning For Boaters To Avoid Gardner Dam Spillway

A high level of activity occurred on the weekend at Lake Diefenbaker as boaters and the public enjoyed the weekend weather. Accordingly, WSA is continuing to advise boaters and the general public to urgently heed safety signage and protective buoys surrounding the Gardiner Dam spillway at Lake Diefenbaker. 

There is both a personal and operational safety risk that could occur if boaters ignore safety signage and pass the protective log boom into the inlet channel. This could potentially trigger a situation where a vessel could physically not escape the current and be drawn into the spillway structure. Similarly, members of the public should not leave the roadway and directly approach the spillway (i.e., going down the embankment or standing along the wing walls).

The total outflow from Gardiner Dam from the spillway and power plant is now about 700 cubic metres per second (m3/s), with 300 m3/s being released through the spillway gates. The current spillway release continues to present risk and that release may increase, increasing the risk further if the intake channel is entered.

Accordingly, all recreational boaters and visitors to the area are reminded to take a wide berth of the spillway, especially in the coming days, practicing good aquatic safety.

For further information,

Ron Podbielski

Water Security Agency

306-550-2887