Saskatoon riverboat Prairie Lily docked due to low water levels, sandbars

Aishwarya Dudha · CBC News

· Posted: May 08, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

The Prairie Lily stream vessel has tally aground aft implicit a decennary of sailing the South Saskatchewan River.

On Wednesday, owners of the Saskatoon riverboat said the h2o level is truthful debased that they can't cruise the ship.

"For the archetypal clip successful our 13 years of sailing this ship, the sandbars person accrued to the constituent wherever we nary longer person a navigation channel," Mike Steckhan, skipper and co-owner of the Prairie Lily, said successful an interview. 

The economical interaction volition be huge for his business, which has stopped bookings and has been cancelling cruises getting into the season.

Unless enactment is taken to summation the h2o levels, the Prairie Lily volition be forced to cancel its season, helium said.

"There's nary spot that's heavy capable for this ship. It's truthful debased that determination isn't a navigation transmission for america to bash our cruises safely, truthful we've had to cancel," said Steckhan.

Sandbanks signifier erstwhile the silt carried by the river accumulates, and implicit the past fewer years, determination hasn't been capable h2o moving done to flush them out, helium said. 

He's calling for the Water Security Agency, which controls the travel of h2o retired of the Gardiner Dam, to summation the travel to region the sandbars. 

"We're not asking for each the h2o successful the lake. We're lone asking the WSA to supply a measurement of flow that allows harmless cognition connected the river," helium said. 

Will merchandise much h2o if water levels rise: WSA

Water Security Agency president and CEO Shawn Jaques said that arsenic of now, determination are nary plans to unfastened the spill gates oregon importantly summation the travel of h2o retired of the Gardiner Dam for now. 

He said that the existent h2o level of the stream flowing done Saskatoon is astir 70 cubic centimetres per 2nd (cms), which is adjacent to the magnitude of h2o flowing into Lake Diefenbaker — the reservoir formed by the instauration of the Gardiner and Qu'Appelle River dams — from the west. 

"To enactment it into perspective, the median oregon the yearly mean travel typically is 145 cubic meters per second. So we're sitting astatine 50 per cent of what we usually would get," Jaques said successful an interview. 

Steckhan said helium wants to spot 900 cms per second for 72 hours, oregon 400 cms for a fig of days to mitigate the problem.

Jaques said determination person been adust conditions crossed Western Canada implicit the past 3 years, and the snowpack successful the Rocky Mountains is besides good beneath mean close now. 

"When you person a beneath mean snowpack, beneath mean precipitation done the summertime months, it has an interaction connected the magnitude of h2o flowing into Lake Diefenbaker, which arsenic a result, you volition spot little h2o flowing done by Saskatoon," helium said. 

He said the water provides 60 per cent of Saskatchewan's colonisation with drinking water, arsenic good arsenic h2o for potash mines, cultivation uses and ferry crossings to beryllium maintained. 

"If the water level gets higher, oregon we get a ample rainfall lawsuit successful Alberta oregon the mountains oregon thing that increases that inflow into Lake Diefenbaker, we volition unfastened the spillway gates, and we'll merchandise further water," Jaques said. 

Hard 'to not usage a clump of 4-letter words': captain

Discover Saskatoon said the Prairie Lily is 1 of Saskatoon's astir iconic experiences, and has helped showcase the riverfront to visitors and locals for implicit a decade. 

"It's besides a concern presently preparing for sale, making this disruption adjacent much important for its owners and staff," the tourism relation said successful a statement. 

It's hopeful that a way guardant tin beryllium recovered that allows river-based businesses and users to proceed to thrive successful Saskatoon, the connection said.

But Steckhan said he's frustrated by the situation. 

"Well, I'm an aged sailor, and it's truly a batch of hard enactment close present to not usage a clump of four-letter words. So that's benignant of however I consciousness astir it," helium said.