After an unseasonably dry season, Swift Current Online reached out to the Swift Current Creek Watershed Stewards for an update on current water levels.

According to Kevin Steinley, Executive Director of the Watershed Stewards the fact that levels are low is no surprise.

"Throughout the course of the summer due to the hot and dry conditions we've seen is that water levels at Duncairn Dam and through the creek and also a lot of potholes and dug outs are a lot lower than they were when we started the year in the spring."

Steinley adds that obviously we see water levels recede throughout the year but he personally believes he is seeing water levels now that he has not seen since 1988 in some places in terms of how low they are.

Sean Osmar, Manager of Communications for the Water Security Agency says that this summer we had particularly high heat for extended periods which only made the situation tougher.

According to  Osmar the current low levels that we are seeing are not normal for this time of year.

"No, I would say for pretty much the entire year we've seen lower than normal both water levels and rain and precipitation, so this is not normal. We've seen similarly drier years like this in 88, 1990 and 2001 were lower than normal in this range of precipitation."

Osmar adds that moving forward they are looking forward to precipitation hopefully before the freeze-up and overwinter to have some snow back.

"A year like this really hammers home the need for people to think more about how they are using water in their homes, businesses, and yards. They should look for ways to conserve water in any way they can," says Steinley.