Georges Beaudry noticed the rocks exposed in the Roseau River.
Since 1991, he has owned a private 200-acre campsite (Oroseau Rapids Park), south of St. Malo. Visitors have brought inner tubes and kayaks to the valley site for use in the rapids.
Beaudry says that the river is disappearing because of the ongoing drought.
He said that it was a totally different river. “Some people who come here are astonished. They are used to running rivers with rapids and come here with their tubes… but no water.
Beaudry stated that there are eight notable rapids within one kilometer of a river near Oroseau, about 80 km south of Winnipeg. There are also natural pools that can be used for watersports.
He said that the pools were becoming “swamps” in essence. “There is no water movement.”
According to the federal government’s website, Thursday saw water levels of 240.2 meters at the Roseau River monitoring station east of Dominion City. In August 2016, the average level was 241.2m.
The Roseau River monitoring station at Gardenton recorded a water level reading of 292.2m on Thursday. This is down from the 294m average level in July 2016. (August’s level was not available).
19.8 millimeters fell in July at Sprague (one of the nearest weather stations to Roseau River). Between 1981 and 2010, the average July rainfall was 104.5mm.
Beaudry has had to rethink his business model because of the dried-up river.
He said, “People are always in the water.” “If there is no water, they won’t come.”
Beaudry currently rents the whole acreage to one group at time. He said that he might have to split the space into multiple campsites to allow individuals and smaller groups to rent the space on the same day.
“I don’t think we want to do it, but if there are a few more years like these… it’s probably not worth opening.”
Beaudry is concerned that future severe weather could permanently turn portions of the Roseau River into swamp.
He said, “Climate is intertwined with our existence.” “I don’t believe people make these connections enough.
The Shell River is located near Asessippi Beach & Campground and Rick Goraluk claims it’s the lowest he has ever seen.
Goraluk co-owned the campground, located 350 km north of Winnipeg, for 14 years. He would normally take customers with tubes upstream 2.5 km and then return to the campsite in an hour and a half.
Goraluk stated that the rocks were sticking out too much. “You can’t even make it through. You’d have to jump off your tubes and push the rocks through them.”
Because the river is so shallow, he said that swimming in it is good for kids. Aquatic enthusiasts will be out of luck otherwise.
According to Kurtis Gafka, co-owner of Brokenhead River Park east of Beausejour: “There’s pretty much nothing left.”
Gafka stated that if it becomes a trend, people may look elsewhere. It’s not widespread, which is the only thing that saves us. This is a widespread drought.
This concern is not local. Some of Manitoba’s rivers are fed by watersheds from other states and provinces, like North Dakota. These states, including Environment and Climate Change Canada, are also suffering droughts.
The majority of southern Manitoba has had less than 100mm of precipitation over the past six months.
She stated that there hasn’t been much rain in the area and that there hasn’t been enough rain upstream to fill the watersheds. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that the water levels are low in the rivers.
Hasell stated that weather variability has increased noticeably.
She stated that “it would seem that we have had the top five driest and top-five wettest…years in the past 10 to 15 years.” “The years aren’t just dry, they can be very dry. The years aren’t just dry, they’re very moist.