Weekly Water Operations Update
The average daily diversion from the Bow River was 780 cfs (22 m3/s) over the last week. Bow flows remain strong for July, averaging 4,250 cfs (120 m3/s) which is considered to be high flow stage for the river. All water demand is being met from the river diversion, with our internal storage remaining full. There are no plans currently to limit the per acre allocation for irrigators however it is important to recognize that the Bow will weaken as the weeks go by so the WID encourages our users to irrigate while supply remains strong and no limits are in place.
WID records show a total of 981 irrigation systems in the WID. Of these, 750 systems have applied water in 2025, currently 240 irrigation systems are running and applying water.
Snow pack has depleted for the 2025 season.
The average daily temperature in May was 19.0 degrees and in June the daily average temperature in Strathmore was 14.5 degrees.
Precipitation – According to weather records, total rainfall in the Strathmore area was approximately 103mm for the month of June.
- Forecast for this week – daytime highs in the mid 20’s with Tuesday’s forecast to be in the low 30’s with evening and overnight temperatures in the low teens. There is a slight chance of rainfall Wednesday evening and overnight into Thursday morning with only up to 5mm total rain predicted.
IMPORTANT WATER USE UPDATES
WID Water Advisory is at Level 0
Western Irrigation District
Serving Irrigators East of Calgary for More Than 75 Years
DID YOU KNOW that all land, canals, driving banks and reservoirs that are part of the WID infrastructure are private property and not public lands?
The average daily diversion from the Bow River was 986 cfs (28 m3/s) over the last week. Bow flows remain strong flowing averaging 6,357 cfs (180 m3/s) which is considered to be high flow and so now is the time to take advantage of the strong water supply while it exists as it will drop to a low flow stage in the coming weeks, limiting the WID diversion to 400 cfs (11.3 m3/s)
WID records show a total of 981 irrigation systems in the WID. Of these 667 systems have applied water in 2025, currently 202 irrigation systems on average are running this week.
Snow pack has depleted for the year, run-off was complete just shy of 2 weeks earlier than last year.
The average daily temperature in May was 19.0 degrees and in June up to the 17th was 21.6 degrees.
Precipitation – According to weather records, rainfall in the Strathmore area is approximately 29 mm below the YTD long term average so far in 2025
- In total, Strathmore has recorded 166 mm of rainfall through May and June so far.
- The historical average over this time period is 195 mm.
- Forecast for this week – Daytime highs are predicted to be in the mid 20’s until the weekend when temps are expected to drop to the low double digits for daytime temps, and into single digits overnight. Precipitation totals from 95 to 105 mm are expected to accompany the cooler temperatures.
Demand remains higher than average for water which is expected to lower with the coming weather forecast. WID currently does not anticipate any water restrictions to be put in place in the next week. Reservoir storage upstream of Calgary, as well as WID internal storage facilities are full at this time to maximize water availability and reduce pressures should precipitation be limited in the coming months.