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

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

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Part One

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Where?

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Basic Statistics Mean Discharge2370 m/s Total Catchment Area1,093,442km 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

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Major Tributaries of the Nelson River

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Statistics for Major Tributaries Saskatchewan Mean Discharge700 m/s Catchment Area335,900km Altitude Change (From source confluence to base) (from source to base) 160m 1900m Assiniboine Mean Discharge45m/s Catchment Area182,00 0 km Altitude Change (From source to base) 410m Red River of the North Catchment Area287,00 0 km Altitude Change ( From source to base) 70m Winnipeg Catchment Area29,000 km

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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 -7.3-3.62.111.317.62122.822.116.810.90-5.49 Daily mean C -11.7-8.4-2.65.511.715.517.516.611.35.6-4.1-9.63.9 Average low C -16-13.1-7.3-0.35.71012.111.15.80.3-8.2-13.9-1.2 Precipita tion mm 22.514.616.6264987.191.76943.717.9 20.9476.9

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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

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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.

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

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North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta Notice the asymmetrical meandering

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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.

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

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Assiniboine River Notice the steeper sides of the River

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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.

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

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Nelson River Mouth Mesotidal Estuary MMesotidal: coastal ocean or waterway with a moderate mean tidal range (i.e. 2m to 4m) ((Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ) HHudsons Bay is frozen most of the year SSediment form river has different aldebo, speeding up sea ice melting

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Mouth of the Nelson River

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Sources http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/ A_CH26/CH_26.htmlhttp://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/ A_CH26/CH_26.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_River http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/maps_full scale.php?mapID=395&theme=2http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/maps_full scale.php?mapID=395&theme=2 http://www.salinesystems.org/content/figures/174 6-1448-1-10-2-l.jpghttp://www.salinesystems.org/content/figures/174 6-1448-1-10-2-l.jpg http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerec ords/1000/1821/HudsonBay.A2001138.1720lrg.jpghttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerec ords/1000/1821/HudsonBay.A2001138.1720lrg.jpg http://www.wildernessspirit.com/assiniboine%20ri ver%20L.jpghttp://www.wildernessspirit.com/assiniboine%20ri ver%20L.jpg

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Part Two

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

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

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Oil industry Must separate sand bitumen

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

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Hydro-electric power

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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)

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Sources http://www.safewater.org/PDFS/resourcesknowthe facts/Cdn_Prairie_Drink_Water.pdfhttp://www.safewater.org/PDFS/resourcesknowthe facts/Cdn_Prairie_Drink_Water.pdf http://www.sicc.sk.ca/saskindian/a77mar07.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_River_Hydro electric_Projecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_River_Hydro electric_Project http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7111/is_3_33 /ai_n32067867/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7111/is_3_33 /ai_n32067867/ http://www.albertawater.com/index.php?option=co m_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=78http://www.albertawater.com/index.php?option=co m_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=78 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Winnipeg Craig William Christensens presentation about Athabasca Tar Sands

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

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Flood in May 1950 Causes: heavy precipitation in winter/spring 100 000 people evacuated 6 people dead Damage: 600 1000 million CAD Worst damaged: Winnipeg

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Result Red River Floodway 1962 - 1972 73.5 million m earth 47 km channel 63 million CAD Saved estimated 10 billion CAD in potential damages

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Red River Floodway

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

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St. Agathe 1997

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Brunkild Dike

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Flood in 2009 Causes: High winter snowfall High temperature snow melt rate Rainstorm on March 22 -25 (20 cm) of ppt Ice jams

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

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Fargo-Moorhead 2009

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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 m/s to 4,000 m/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

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Fun stuff to end with The Last Saskatchewan Pirate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G_L9tXEw mchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G_L9tXEw mc http://artists.letssingit.com/arrogant-worms- lyrics-the-last-saskatchewan-pirate-c73bzxwhttp://artists.letssingit.com/arrogant-worms- lyrics-the-last-saskatchewan-pirate-c73bzxw Norway House, Manitoba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Househttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_House

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Sources http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Param s=M1ARTM0011336http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Param s=M1ARTM0011336 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Floodway http://watertreatment.ca/2009/manitobas-flood-management/ http://www.apfm.info/pdf/case_studies/canada.pdf http://www.syntexgeo.com/images/a_newimages_may08/_400pixels/bag %20drop_400.gifhttp://www.syntexgeo.com/images/a_newimages_may08/_400pixels/bag %20drop_400.gif http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/images/redriver.jpg http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/customcode/TCEMediaPopup.c fm?Language=E&ArticleID=M0011336&MediaID=6063&TB_iframe=true &height=612&width=885&modal=truehttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/customcode/TCEMediaPopup.c fm?Language=E&ArticleID=M0011336&MediaID=6063&TB_iframe=true &height=612&width=885&modal=true www.ndsu.edu/fargo_geology/fldphotos2009.htm