By TERRY PUGH
Vehicles crossing the ice on the South Saskatchewan River at the Clarkboro Ferry are running a huge risk, according to Warman Fire Chief Russ Austin.
“Crossing the ice over moving water is never safe,” said Austin. “We strongly advise people not to use that river crossing.
“It’s much safer to drive into Saskatoon and take the new bridge,” he added. “It only adds about ten minutes of driving time. I understand people want to save a little time by rolling the dice, but crossing the river on the ice is never worth the risk.”
The Water Security Agency (WSA) also strongly discourages motorists from driving onto the ice at the Clarkboro Ferry crossing.
In an email response January 9 to an inquiry from the Gazette, a WSA spokesperson stated:
“The WSA wants to make it clear that this is not an official or sanctioned ice or winter road, and it is not operated or maintained by the Ministry of Highways or any other Ministry. Ice conditions can vary widely, particularly on rivers. Flowing water beneath the ice can lead to uneven thickness, weak spots, cracks, and sudden changes in ice strength that are not visible from the surface. River ice is especially unpredictable, and ice conditions can change quickly due to flow variations and weather. We do not recommend using this crossing.”
PERILOUS RESCUES
Austin said despite warning signs posted at the crossing, Warman Fire Rescue (WFR) members are called out almost every year, usually in the late fall or early spring, to rescue people in vehicles that have broken through the ice at the Clarkboro crossing. Most of those calls are during the night when the river crossing is in almost total darkness, the river current is strong, and the ice is unstable or breaking apart.
“If we can go out and rescue someone, we will,” he said. “But there are occasions, and people don’t like to hear this, but there are times when there is open water and the flow rate reaches a critical point; that it’s unsafe for rescuers to go out on the ice. We’ll do everything we can to help, but people have to help themselves by making good decisions.”
UNSTABLE ICE CONDITIONS
Austin said the unusual freeze and thaw conditions so far this winter have meant ice conditions on many bodies of water are inconsistent and unreliable. There have been occasions where cross-country skiers and snowmobilers have gone through the ice on a body of still water like Emma Lake.
The Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association (SSA) is also emphasizing ice safety during Snowmobile Safety Week (January 11-17). The provincial association notes that riders need to be aware of less-than-ideal ice conditions when crossing bodies of water.
SSA President Leah Switzer noted in an online article published January 12 on the Discover Estevan website that in many areas, the ice is not thick enough to support snowmobiles.
“The season we’ve had so far, it was warm so late into the fall, and then we got a lot of snow,” said Switzer. “So, the ice hasn’t had a chance to really set up and get a good thickness.”
Late last fall, the Saskatchewan RCMP issued an advisory stating that ice which forms under a heavy layer of snow is the weakest type of ice.
“Because white ice traps air and snow while freezing, it is not strong,” stated the RCMP advisory. “Wait for clear, strong and stable ice to form before getting onto the ice. Clear ice, often appearing blue, is the strongest type of ice. It will form only when temperatures have been consistently below zero for a long time.”
Fluctuating temperatures, particularly when they go above the freezing mark, undermine the stability of ice.
Austin noted the risks are magnified on a river, where the water is moving under the ice and water levels vary every day.
“The nature of flowing water is it could be two feet one day and two inches the next day because of the current and constant changes of direction under the ice,” he stated.
Austin said those natural variations of water level are compounded by the Gardiner Dam upstream at Lake Diefenbaker. Outflows from the lake are controlled at the dam.
“It’s not unusual for the amount of water to increase or decrease in a short period of time,” said Austin. “That can create a situation where there’s an air void under the ice, and the ice wouldn’t be thick enough to support a vehicle’s weight.
“There’s no way to predict from one day to the next what moving water will do to the ice thickness in any given spot,” said Austin. “Even in bodies of water with no current, ice thickness can vary dramatically. Earlier this winter when we were checking the depth of the ice in the storm water ponds in Warman, we found places in the same pond where there were 10 inches at one spot and four inches at another spot. It was highly variable.”
WIDE SWINGS IN FLOW
Water outflows from the Gardiner Dam at various stations downstream are posted daily on the provincial Water Security Agency (WSA) website. As a general rule, when the river flows increase, the water levels rise, and the water moves faster.
Last summer and into the fall of 2025, the water flow at Saskatoon was, on average, about 75 to 100 cubic meters per second (cms).
But around mid-November, according to WSA outflow charts posted on its website, the amount of flow at Saskatoon began increasing dramatically, rising to over 200 cms by November 28. It then declined to 175 cms on November 30, rose to about 250 cms by December 5, and then plunged to about 110 cms by December 8. Since then, there have been wide daily swings in outflow levels.
According to the WSA’s January 9 email, increased outflows during winter are part of the normal operations of the dam:
“During winter, managing ice formation is a normal part of operating the South Saskatchewan River system,” stated the WSA email. “This can result in short-term changes in releases from Gardiner Dam.”
These adjustments are made to help ice form and stabilize in a way that reduces the risk of ice jams and unexpected water level changes downstream, according to the WSA.
“At present, some ice restrictions have formed upstream of Saskatoon near Moon Lake,” stated the WSA email. “To help stabilize these ice conditions, flows were temporarily reduced to allow water levels to recede and ice to reform. This type of adjustment is a normal part of winter operations and as conditions stabilize, releases are expected to return to about 200–240 cubic meters/second (cms) later this week, which is a typical winter range for this time of the year.”
The WSA website notes that SaskPower electricity requirements also play a role in the amount of outflow from the dam: “Flows can be expected to fluctuate during the day… outflows are generally higher during the daytime period, and much lower, or even zero at times, during the overnight period.”
TRAFFIC INCREASED
While area residents have used the Clarkboro ice crossing as a convenient shortcut between Warman and Aberdeen for decades, the volume of traffic has increased dramatically in the last few years, according to Garth Hetterly, a resident of Corman Park who lives a stone’s throw from the ferry crossing. For the past 18 years he cleared a trail over the ice for vehicles.
“When we moved here 18 years ago, I started clearing it because people would get stuck in the snow on the river ice, and they’d come knocking at my door at all hours to ask for help and I’d tow them out,” said Hetterly. “That happened quite a few times, so I started clearing a path so folks wouldn’t get stuck.”
But Hetterly did not clear a path this winter.
Last spring, he was crossing the river in his car when the front end of his vehicle suddenly broke through the ice. He called 911 and Warman Fire Rescue members were among those who responded. Fortunately, he was able to get out of the vehicle and was not injured.
Hetterly concedes that crossing the ice is inherently risky, but he believes the dangers are artificially increased because of the unpredictable water levels due to variable outflows at the Gardiner Dam.
“I go for my walks every evening along the river,” he said. “I don’t want to see anyone go through the ice. It’s dangerous but people are always going to cross here.”
He believes the provincial government should not allow wide swings in outflows.
“The province needs to step up and take measures to reduce the risk,” he said. “The government simply says it’s not a legal road so it can avoid liability. But they know that people are crossing the river, and it seems like they don’t care about trying to make it a safer crossing. I think the government should be prudent and keep the water outflows consistent.”
Hetterly noted that ice roads are not uncommon in northern Canada. In Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Highways Saskatchewan has several ice roads and winter roads at Wollaston Lake, Stony Rapids to Fond du Lac, and Fond du Lac to Uranium City. There is also a two-kilometer-long ice road across Lake Diefenbaker at Riverhurst and a 52-kilometer winter road from Cumberland House to the Manitoba border.
Hetterly believes technology that measures ice thickness, combined with daily monitoring of the ice, would reduce the risk. When conditions are determined to be unsafe, warnings should be posted, he added.
“I know some people will ignore all the warnings,” he said. “But I think those folks that are transporting their kids to a hockey practice on the other side of the river will think twice about putting their family members at risk if they get reliable information that the crossing is truly unsafe.”