A look at the mouth of the Big Stone River on Oct. 8, 2023. (Karen Carriere/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

ON THE RIVER DELTA

How sediment could solve the water issues at Cumberland House

Oct 25, 2023 | 3:00 PM

It’s been nearly a week since a State of Emergency was declared by two northeast Saskatchewan communities, saying they’re running out of water.

The emergency declaration is still in effect for Cumberland House and Cumberland House Cree Nation and was initiated on Thursday. The communities said at the time that water levels had decreased so much, that a month’s supply in its reservoir was all that remained.

Before the emergency was declared, residents were sharing concerns and videos on Facebook, calling for the province to pay attention to the situation.

Several videos were recorded by Gary Carriere, a local knowledge keeper who spent his entire life in the region and has dedicated the last 30-plus years to studying the Saskatchewan River delta.

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In June, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Saskatchewan, for his work to help protect and preserve the delta.

The delta is the largest inland freshwater delta in North America, stretching from east-central Saskatchewan into Manitoba, connecting Treaties 5,6, and 10.

In an interview with northeastNOW Carriere said one of the major reasons for the low water levels this year was a lack of snow on the mountains from last winter.

“We didn’t have the snow that we normally get in the Rocky Mountains and that’s impacted the whole river system…everybody’s impacted by it there because we didn’t get the snow,” Carierre said, adding that irrigation and recent droughts have also contributed.

“And everybody wants to use that water,” he said. “So, it’s stretched pretty thin this year.”

Carriere compared the Saskatchewan River Delta to when someone has a blocked artery, saying the Saskatchewan River is the main artery for the delta.

“When you start disconnecting some of the arteries from the system, from your body, you start feeling sick and you eventually die,” he said.

“The big stone river is deepening and disconnecting with all the other channels and that’s what’s happening with the whole system. When you start tampering with the natural system, of course, we’re all going to pay a price.”

Carriere said the animals, particularly the aquatic life, are paying the biggest price right now.

For years, leaders in Cumberland House have raised concerns over the E.B. Campbell Dam, which they said has disrupted the natural flow of the river, taking sediment away and starving the wetlands of nutrients.

Earlier the year, a Court of King’s Bench judge denied applications from Cumberland House Cree Nation and Opaskwayack Cree Nation in Manitoba, calling for an end to SaskPower’s license of the E.B. Campbell Dam.

Both bands had based their claims on what they said was a lack of sufficient consultation by SaskPower and the Water Security Agency.

The province stated the current water levels are not a result of the dam but of a lack of precipitation and low mountain runoffs.

Still, Carriere believes that in order to change the tide in the future, something needs to happen to restore the flow of the river and let nature take over.

“I feel we owe it to the delta because we, our people have lived off this delta for hundreds [of years],” he said. “The only fix would be reopening the rivers that have been disconnected. Then, hopefully maybe someday we’ll consider putting back the sediment and when the river is carrying the sediment, it’ll be happy again.”

According to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society in Saskatchewan (CPAWS), the Saskatchewan River Delta is formed partly because of the transport and deposition of sediment. This deposition is essential for the health of aquatic species and replenishes the surrounding land and water with nutrients.

CPAWS said that sediment in the Saskatchewan River Delta has been jeopardized since the E.B. Campbell Dam opened in the 1960s, disrupting the the natural process of the river.

In response to the emergency alert, the provincial government announced it is working on a short-term solution to provide at least a three-month storage of water for the area.

Additional sources are being considered to make sure Cumberland House and the Cree Nation have water through next spring.

While Carriere welcomes that news, he knows that it’ll only be a short-term solution to a greater problem.

“Putting the sediment back in the river is the right fix for it.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com