Achi news desk-
Once a month in the spring and winter, water monitoring technologists with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas travel high into the Alberta alpine to assess how much snow will come downstream during the spring runoff season.
“We’d like to be above average, so we can fill reservoirs so more water flows down the river,” said technologist Dennis Rollag during an April trip up into the mountains.
The technicians fly over vast mountains – where only wildlife usually roams – to test the 10 sites by hand.
Working in pairs with a chartered helicopter pilot, the researchers travel deep into the countryside, measuring the snow for depth and density.
The technicians trudged through the snow, sometimes needing cross-country skis to avoid sinking into the slush.
They used a tube to check the height of the snow. Each station is tested several times to ensure the reading is accurate.
“We have snow courses that are in exactly the same place. A lot of them are here in the Banff area where they’ve been here for 70 plus years,” said Rollag.
The data collected by operations staff is used for managing reservoir levels and other methods of water management.
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It is also used for flood forecasting.
Between the different sites, the takeaway is mostly the same: despite the recent snowfall, the snowpack in Bow Valley is still about 20 percent below normal for this time of year. the year.
“I think we are about 60 per cent before the snow in March. So, we were very depressed,” said Rollag. “But we expect most of the snow in the spring.”
It comes as Alberta entered into historic water-sharing agreements this spring, anticipating severe drought conditions and the likelihood of water restrictions and fire bans throughout the summer months.
“A higher snowpack would definitely give us more water to put into the reservoirs. Some of them are very low,” said Rollag.
The Alberta government is also taking the extra step of collecting snow samples this year, which will be used for isotope testing.
“The isotopic analysis will help characterize the isotopic signatures of snow so that we can try to identify the snowmelt element in groundwater recharge and surface runoff. Basically, it helps us understand the hydrologic cycle in the alpine environment, and how long water spends in different parts of the cycle,” Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas said in a statement.
Snowpack monitoring will continue into June. Alberta typically sees most of its snow in the spring months.
— With files from Adam MacVicar, Global News
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
