By TERRY PUGH
The Prairie Lily has cancelled operations indefinitely due to a buildup of sand bars and lack of a navigable channel.
The 107-ton, 65-foot long passenger cruise ship, owned and operated by Prairie River Cruises Ltd., is capable of accommodating 119 passengers. It’s been a popular attraction on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon since 2012; averaging 20,000 bookings per season.
This marks the first time the vessel won’t be setting sail on its inaugural cruise on Mother’s Day, according to Prairie Lily Captain Mike Steckhan of Corman Park. He said the ship may still offer cruises later this summer if additional water is released from Lake Diefenbaker through the Gardiner Dam and river levels rise sufficiently.
“There’s just not enough water right now to navigate,” said Steckhan in an interview May 7. “We’ve had 5,000 bookings to date, and we haven’t even started operating. Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel our Mother’s Day weekend cruises, and issue refunds. It’s quite a significant hit to us, to the city, and to the province.”
Steckhan said the buildup of sandbars in the river is normal due to fluctuating water levels. But, he adds, there is usually periodic flows of higher water that “flushes” the river and creates deeper channels amidst shifting sandbars.
“There are wet years and dry years,” said Steckhan. “Historically there is a high water event every two or three years. That event increases flows enough to shift sandbars out of the way and flush the valley out all the way from the Gardiner Dam to Cumberland House.
“But, the last high water flow was in 2020, so we haven’t had enough to scour the sand in four straight seasons now. That’s the problem.”
The Water Security Agency (WSA), the provincial government’s agency responsible for the province’s water resource management, regulates the flow of water through the Gardiner Dam on Lake Diefenbaker. Prior to 2021, the WSA released what Steckhan terms a reasonable level of water that resulted in a reasonably healthy river channel.
“But with a few dry years and the purposeful retention of water in the lake, the river hasn’t been flushed in four years,” said Steckhan. “Now the accumulation of sand has increased so much that it’s not possible to navigate or allow us to operate on the river.”
Steckhan said in the summer of 2024, local businesses and organizations operating in and around the river including The Prairie Lily contacted the WSA.
“We welcomed their CEO and their VP of Science and Licensing on a personal cruise with me in the wheelhouse last July so they could see and talk firsthand about the concern before it became an issue,” continued Steckhan. “No action has been taken. We contacted them last week after doing our annual pre-cruising river survey to advise the river was not navigable. We were informed on Friday, May 2, that they will not release any additional water from the Gardiner Dam.”
The current WSA 10-day Provincial Forecast issued the same day, shows flows will be maintained at the lowest level of 60 cubic meters per second (cms).
Steckhan said while Lake Diefenbaker needs to retain water for power production and irrigation, the current lake water levels are above the historic average high and will continue to rise next month from the expected spring runoff from the above average snowpack from the Rocky Mountains. Right now, he said, the surplus water is just being held.
Based on his knowledge of the river and historical flows, Steckhan projects Saskatoon would need a flow of 900cms for 72 hours or 400cms for a number of days to mitigate the problem.
“We’re not asking for all the water in the lake,” said Steckhan. “We’re only asking the WSA to provide a volume of flow, that allows safe operation on the river. If managed effectively, the river could be navigable at low water levels for another three seasons before additional action may be required.”
But WSA President and CEO Shawn Jacques said releasing additional water from Lake Diefenbaker now poses a risk if this summer is drier than normal.
“It’s true that the flow in the river at Saskatoon is currently lower than normal,” said Jacques in an interview May 7. “It’s sitting at about 70 cubic meters per second now; whereas normally the median flow would be about 145 cubic meters per second. But the outflow from the dam is also equivalent to what’s flowing into Lake Diefenbaker.”
Jacques said the snow pack in the Rockies is about 70 per cent of normal, and the likelihood of lower inflows has a bearing on the WSA’s operations at the dam. He noted that last fall, the WSA began releasing less water than average through the dam during the winter months. That allowed the capture of additional water in the lake.
“By doing that, we were able to gain approximately 0.9 meters in the reservoir,” said Jacques. “That brought us up to where today we are slightly above the normal operating range. If we release a significant amount of water for three days now, that would erase much of what we gained over a period of several months, and could lower the lake by upwards of a meter.”
Jacques said the current margin is too slim to release additional water now. He said the WSA needs to maintain the lake level within an optimal operating range.
“If we were sitting at a meter and half higher than normal, that’s a different story,” he said, adding the overall Lake Diefenbaker system is complex.
“It feeds a number of canals, and it also serves as the source for 60 per cent of Saskatchewan’s drinking water,” he said. “There are also many industrial users, including Sask Power. It influences the ferry crossings operated by the Ministry of Highways; and there are also agricultural and recreational demands. So we have to take all those needs into account when making decisions.”
Jacques said the WSA continues to monitor water flows in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and adjusts its operations depending on the inflow into the lake.
Meanwhile, low water levels are negatively impacting downstream users.
Steckhan said the Prairie Lily draws just four feet of water, but even that minimal freeboard requires a channel deeper than what’s available this spring.
Steckhan said the provincial ferry fleet, including the Clarkboro Ferry that operates between Warman and Aberdeen, are also affected occasionally by fluctuating river levels – especially during periods of high flow.
But, he noted, the strategic placement of rocks along the riverbanks at the ferry crossings ensure the current carves a deeper channel at those locations and prevents the buildup of sandbars during periods of low flow.
“The ferries only run back and forth on a relatively small stretch of river,” he said. “The Prairie Lily, on the other hand, navigates upstream and downstream over a much more extensive section of the river.”
Mike Steckhan, who also serves as Chief of the Blucher Aberdeen Volunteer Fire Department, is a naval reserve veteran. His wife Joan, also a member of the fire department, is Vice-President of Prairie River Cruises. The couple had announced last year that they would be retiring from the riverboat cruise business in 2025, and that this was scheduled to be their last year operating the ship. However, they had hoped other investors would purchase the vessel and continue the cruise operations.
“People have expressed a lot of excitement to join us for our cruises this summer,” said Joan Steckhan. “But this is not just about us. We are just one of many river users in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan from the dam to Cumberland House and local festivals and events that will not be able to carry their plans forward into the summer. Without mitigation, even low draft, non-powered users like canoes and kayaks will not be able enjoy the river in future years.”
Mike and Joan Steckhan; along with former partners Peter and Valerie Kingsmill; purchased the ship in 2012 and began operations that year in Saskatoon. The vessel was built in LaCrosse, Wisconsin in 1989 and previously operated as a charter ship on the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada.