Recreational boaters and the general public are urgently advised to heed safety signage and protective buoys surrounding the Gardiner Dam spillway at Lake Diefenbaker.
Water Security Agency has commenced a spillway release, which will accelerate through the weekend leading to potential total outflow of 900 m3/s.
The high water levels and spillway release often attract the attention of recreational boaters, but there is both a personal and operational safety risk that could occur if boaters ignore safety signage and pass the protective log boom into the inlet channel. This could potentially trigger a situation a vessel could physically not escape the current and be drawn into the spillway structure.
Similarly, members of the public should not leave the roadway and directly approach the spillway (i.e., going down the embankment or standing along the wing walls). Accordingly, all recreational boaters and visitors to the area are reminded to take a wide berth of the spillway, especially in the coming days, practicing good aquatic safety.
