Those drawing water from southern Alberta’s Milk River should expect flows to drop after a “catastrophic failure” of upstream infrastructure.
The Milk River Watershed Council Canada (MRWCC) sent out the warning in the morning of June 17.
According to an email sent by Mary Lupwayi, MRWCC program co-ordinator, the failure occurred at the St. Mary siphon, installed on the St. Mary River near Babb, Montana, to redirect water from the main flow and to the Milk River. Crews with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation were inspecting a crack at the time of the incident.
Read Also
Farming Smarter receives financial boost from Alberta government for potato research
Farming Smarter near Lethbridge got a boost to its research equipment, thanks to the Alberta government’s increase in funding for research associations.
“Thankfully no one was hurt,” wrote Lupwayi, who reported “significant flash flooding” of debris and water flowing into the St. Mary River along the Canadian Reach through to the St. Mary Reservoir.
“Please be careful in low-lying areas and along unstable banks,” she wrote.
Lupwayi said flows on the Milk River can be expected to drop within 24 hours, starting on the North Fork Milk River, and within about 48 hours near and east of the town of Milk River.
Natural flows on the Milk River in combination with current rain should maintain approximately five or six cubic metres per second for water users, she said.
“This will likely drop with depletion of the bank aquifers. All recreational activity is not recommended immediately as flows will drop very suddenly.”
