Flooded Fisher Cries Foul Over Dam Management

Flooded Fisher Cries Foul Over Dam Management

Monday, September 19, 2005 at 15:08

Swamped fishers and outfitters in the Cumberland House region want some answers from the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority.

Local fisher John Carriere runs an outfitting camp that he says he’s still cleaning up from flooding this summer.

Carriere also says swollen lakes and rivers in the region have altered the behaviour of fish, posing problems for all fishers.

He insists the situation wouldn’t be so bad if the EB Campbell Dam was allowed to send more water to Tobin Lake, instead of diverting it to the Cumberland House area.

However, watershed authority spokesman Doug Johnson says province-wide guidelines protecting reservoirs prevent more water from going to Tobin Lake.

Johnson says even if those agreements weren’t in place, the Cumberland House region would be a difficult place to protect from flooding — given its low terrain and the number of rivers that flow through the area.