The Nelson River Drainage Basin Craig Christensen Julie Nitsche Olsen Astrid Mathilda Arvidson

Contents 1.Profile of the Nelson River Drainage Basin 2.Water Resources and Their Usage in Western Canada 3.Challenges in River Management

Part One

Where?

Basic Statistics Mean Discharge2370 m³/s Total Catchment Area1,093,442km² Land Cover Grasslands Forest Wetlands Shrub Arid 5% 34% 27% 2% 22% Land Usage Cultivated Protected Area 51% 4% Major Cities (over 100,000) Situated in Basin (Listed by population) Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Fargo Number of Large Dams13

Major Tributaries of the Nelson River

Statistics for Major Tributaries Saskatchewan Mean Discharge700 m³/s Catchment Area335,900km² Altitude Change (From source confluence to base) (from source to base) 160m 1900m Assiniboine Mean Discharge45m³/s Catchment Area182,00 0 km² Altitude Change (From source to base) 410m Red River of the North Catchment Area287,00 0 km² Altitude Change ( From source to base) 70m Winnipeg Catchment Area29,000 km²

Factors Affecting The River Basin Climate ▫More arid in southern regions ▫Majority of precipitation in summer months ▫Over 5 months of daily mean temperature below freezing allows for build-up of snow  Southern regions thaw sooner than larger. The Nelson river and the Red River both flow from South to North, meaning snow and ice build up can cause flooding. Climate Statistics for Edmonton, Alberta MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear Average high °C Daily mean °C Average low °C Precipita tion mm

Factors Affecting The River Basin Topography of the Basin ▫Rocky Mountains ▫Topography of the Praries  Glaciers created a flat, undulating landscape  Deep soils  Drainage pattern in Dendritic  Groundwater Sources  3 different levels of the prairies

The composition of the Long Profile Short Upper Course ▫The Saskatchewan River experience a rapid fall in altitude near their source (beginning at over 1900m at glacial sources) Extended middle course ▫Rivers meander gently across prairies No upper course proper in the Red River North ▫From source to base level, there is only 1m fall per 5km of river length ▫No river gorge or flood plain due to low erosion rates ▫Very prone to flooding.

Bow Glacier Source of one of the tributaries to the South Saskatchewan River

North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta Notice the asymmetrical meandering

Confluence of the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers Notice the formation of more symmetrical meanders, and the high angle of incidence of the two channels. This is an indication of the slowing speed of the river.

The Red River The Red River lacks a river valley, cause by a low gradient and slow erosion rates

Assiniboine River Notice the steeper sides of the River

Fluvial features Lake Winnipeg ▫Source of the Nelson River ▫11 th largest lake in the World ▫Winnipeg, capital of the province of Manitoba, lies at its southern shore. ▫Fifth largest lake in Canada, but still very shallow due to the deposition of material in it.  Mean depth of only 12m  Well know for many sandy beaches.

Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba One of the beaches along the shores of Lake Manitoba

Nelson River Mouth Mesotidal Estuary ▫M▫Mesotidal: “coastal ocean or waterway with a moderate mean tidal range (i.e. 2m to 4m)” ((Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ) ▫H▫Hudson’s Bay is frozen most of the year ▫S▫Sediment form river has different aldebo, speeding up sea ice melting

Mouth of the Nelson River

Sources A_CH26/CH_26.htmlhttp:// A_CH26/CH_26.html scale.php?mapID=395&theme=2http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/maps_full scale.php?mapID=395&theme= l.jpghttp:// l.jpg ords/1000/1821/HudsonBay.A lrg.jpghttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerec ords/1000/1821/HudsonBay.A lrg.jpg ver%20L.jpghttp:// ver%20L.jpg

Part Two

Main usages Irrigation Idustry (oil) Hydro-electric power Drinking water

Irrigation 5000 km 2 < irrigated of South Saskatchewan River drainage basin annualy

Oil industry Must separate sand bitumen

Oil industry No clear quantitative data Enviromentalists makes claims Groundwater decreasing ½ of natural flow must enter Saskatchewan

Hydro-electric power

Lake Winnipeg 3rd largest resevoir globally Finalized 1979 Large surface area (24514km 2 )  waterlevel does not change much 23.3TWh annualy in Nelson River Complaints from local owners Operator: Manitoba Hydro Worries about Cree (Churchill River)

Sources facts/Cdn_Prairie_Drink_Water.pdfhttp:// facts/Cdn_Prairie_Drink_Water.pdf electric_Projecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_River_Hydro electric_Project /ai_n / /ai_n / m_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=78http:// m_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=78 Craig William Christensen’s presentation about “Athabasca Tar Sands”

Challenges in Management CASE STUDY : ▫Flood prone area ▫1950, 1997, 2009 ▫Red River of the North ▫Dakotas and Manitoba

Flood in May 1950 Causes: heavy precipitation in winter/spring people evacuated 6 people dead Damage: 600 – 1000 million CAD Worst damaged: Winnipeg

Result Red River Floodway million m³ earth 47 km channel 63 million CAD Saved estimated 10 billion CAD in potential damages

Red River Floodway

Flood in April and May 1997 ”The Flood of the Century” 12 m above winter levels 5 km inland 1820 km² inunded Grand Forks & East Grand Forks 500 million CAD in damages Winnipeg saved by RRF

St. Agathe 1997

Brunkild Dike

Flood in 2009 Causes: ▫High winter snowfall ▫High temperature snow melt rate ▫Rainstorm on March (20 cm) of ppt ▫Ice jams

Volunteer efforts reduce damage Sandbagging ▫2 million bags Salvation army Ring dikes Red River Floodway

Fargo-Moorhead 2009

Sum up of Manitoban Flood Management Plan Red River Floodway ▫In 2003, the province announced plans to expand the Floodway, increasing its flow capacity from 2,550 m³/s to 4,000 m³/s. It was decided to widen the Floodway as opposed to deepening it because of the soil and ground conditions in the area. Ring dikes around communities Shellmouth reservoir Promotion of non-structural planning: ▫Emergency preparation ▫Flood proofing ▫Land regulation

Fun stuff to end with The Last Saskatchewan Pirate ▫ mchttp:// mc ▫ lyrics-the-last-saskatchewan-pirate-c73bzxwhttp://artists.letssingit.com/arrogant-worms- lyrics-the-last-saskatchewan-pirate-c73bzxw Norway House, Manitoba ▫

Sources s=M1ARTM http:// s=M1ARTM %20drop_400.gifhttp:// %20drop_400.gif fm?Language=E&ArticleID=M &MediaID=6063&TB_iframe=true &height=612&width=885&modal=truehttp:// fm?Language=E&ArticleID=M &MediaID=6063&TB_iframe=true &height=612&width=885&modal=true