Drought – Current conditions

There are currently 51 water shortage advisories in place for select water management areas across Alberta.

• Alberta Rivers - advisories

Based on monthly snowpack survey data (collected from February 1 to June 1), Alberta produces a water supply outlook that estimates the total runoff volume for 20 locations in southern and central Alberta. The water supply outlook is typically published during the second week of the month.

• Water supply outlook (April 2024)

The April water supply outlook is a long-term river volume forecast for the period from April through September.

Current snowpack and winter accumulated precipitation conditions in the headwaters of the South Saskatchewan River Basin and North Saskatchewan River Basin have improved slightly from last month. Highlights of the April water supply outlook are below:

• Milk River basin – Forecasted to be below average but the forecast at Eastern Crossing (where the river crosses back into the United States) has increased by 5% from last month.
• Oldman River basin – Forecasted to be below average, except for the Oldman River at Brocket which is average. Changes from the March outlook are minor, with some having small increases and others having small decreases.
• Bow River basin – Forecasted volumes decreased 1 to 5% vs March. Flow volumes expected to range from average to much below average.
• Red Deer River basin – Forecasted flow volumes are now expected to be average. Dickson Dam forecast increased by 6% vs March forecast and the Red Deer River at Red Deer increased 8%.
• North Saskatchewan River basin – Forecasted flow volumes are unchanged from the previous month. Flows are expected to range from below average to much below average.

Alberta conducts mountain snowpack surveys monthly from February 1 to June 1 (the Milk River basin is also surveyed in early January). The data is published monthly in the water supply outlook.

In addition to the monthly snowpack surveys, the Alberta River Basins web application and the Alberta Rivers app provides automated snow pillow data from 18 sites, mostly in the mountains and foothills.

April snowpack survey results

Of the 30 April snow surveys completed by government, 10 sites showed average or above average snowpack for this time of year. This is a significant contrast from February, when only two sites surveyed had average snowpack or better.

Oldman River basin – 4 of the 5 locations surveyed are within the normal range. The remaining location (Westcastle II) is 37 mm below the normal range.

Bow River basin – 11 of the 17 sites were in the normal range or above. Sunshine Village is the lowest and is approximately 100 mm below the normal range.

Red Deer River basin – The single snow survey completed in the Red Deer basin was much above average.

North Saskatchewan River basin – 3 of the 4 sites surveyed were much below or below average; the remaining site was much above average (Limestone Ridge).

Alberta’s river monitoring network includes over 450 gauges that report near real-time data via the Alberta River Basins web application and the Alberta Rivers app during the open water season. Periodic winter measurements are now done for the season and our monitoring network will come back online in stages throughout April.

Latest winter measurements

• Milk River at Milk River – On January 25, the flow was measured to be 0.11 m³/s, the fourth lowest January measurement in the last 25 years.
• Oldman River at Range Road 13A – on March 4, the flow was measured to be 1.82 m³/s, the 2^nd lowest March measurement in the last 16 years.
• South Saskatchewan River at Medicine Hat – On January 23, the flow was measured to be 65.2 m³/s, the ninth lowest January measurement in the last 25 years.
• Willow Creek near Claresholm – On March 4, the flow was measured to be 0.54 m³/s, the 6^th lowest March measurement in the last 25 years.
• Sheep River at Okotoks – On March 6, the flow was measured to be 0.74 m³/s, the 3^rd lowest March measurement in the last 25 years.
• Bow River near the Mouth – On March 6, the flow was measured to be 39.9 m³/s, the lowest March measurement in the last 24 years.
• Elbow River at Sarcee Bridge – On February 26, the flow was measured to be 2.76 m³/s, the fifth lowest winter measure in the past 25 years.
• Red Deer River below Burnt Timber Creek – On February 26, the flow was measured to be 4.35 m³/s, the fourth lowest winter measurement in the past 15 years.
• Red Deer River at Drumheller – On March 5, the flow was measured to be 15.9 m³/s, the third lowest March measurement in the last 25 years.
• Battle River at Ponoka – On January 25, the flow was measured to be 0.08 m³/s, the fifth lowest January measurement in the last 25 years.
• Athabasca River below Fort McMurray - On February 13, the flow was measured to be 151 m³/s, the ninth lowest winter measurement in the last 25 years.
• Smoky River at Watino – On March 12, the flow was measured to be 35 m³/s, which is near the median value for measurements taken in March over the last 24 years.
• Wapiti River near Grande Prairie – On March 13, the flow was measured to be 6.3 m³/s, the lowest March measurement in the last 24 years.

Water levels in some southern Alberta reservoirs owned and operated by the Alberta government are well below normal for this time of year.

Oldman Reservoir – Current storage is 35%. Normal for this time of year is between 61% and 82%.

St. Mary Reservoir - Current storage is 31%. Normal for this time of year is between 55% and 78%.

Pine Coulee Reservoir - Current storage is 35%. Normal for this time of year is between 74% and 91%.

Waterton Reservoir - Current storage is 66%. Normal for this time of year is between 57% and 70%.

Gleniffer Reservoir (Dickson Dam) - Current storage is 50%. Normal for this time of year is between 48% and 63%.

Water storage volumes in the major irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs of the Milk, Oldman, Bow, Red Deer, North Saskatchewan, and Athabasca River basins are updated each weekday and available in the Provincial Reservoir Storage Summary.

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation produces a soil moisture report periodically during the winter months, with frequency increasing during the growing season.

• Soil moisture report (April 9, 2024)