Summer Water Levels

Levels in the Southern Lakes upstream from our Whitehorse Rapids hydro facility can vary greatly from year to year, depending on winter snowfall, summer rain, and summer temperatures (which affect the amount of glacial melt in the area). A hot, rainy summer, especially if it follows a winter with heavy snowfall, can mean potential flooding of properties in low-lying areas near Marsh and Tagish Lakes.

Yukon Energy is often asked what we can do to help prevent flooding of people's properties in the high water level years. There is a misconception that if we would only let more water through our Whitehorse dam or our Lewes Lake gates, there wouldn't be a flooding problem.

The truth is that under our water license, we must have all our gates open no later than May 15 of each year. That means that we hold no water back during the summer months, and we have no ability to increase the water flow from the Southern Lakes.

However what we can do is share our information with local residents about what we expect summer water levels to be like each year. This will help people prepare their property for possible flooding in high water years.

In 2010, after taking into account the lower than normal snow pack from the previous winter and Environment Canada's long range forecast, we expect levels to be on the low side, just reaching our licensed Full Supply Level of 656.234 metres. This chart shows a light blue solid line that becomes dotted as we look into the future. We believe summer peak water levels will be in the range of this blue line. This chart will be updated on our blog on a regular basis during the summer months. We have also committed to emailing the chart to those local residents who request it.