Little Manitou Lake water levels threaten to wash away homes, businesses

With every minute of rainfall, Little Manitou Lake swells a little more, putting nearby homes and business at risk of being washed away.

Water levels in the central Saskatchewan village just north of Watrous, Sask., are rising almost on a daily basis, seeping through roadways and berms, and forcing local businesses such as the world-famous Danceland to run water pumps year-round.

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Danceland co-owner Millie Strueby said problems with water levels started as early as 2006 when the water came a metre up the back side of the dance hall. As a response, Strueby and her husband built 2.5-metre berms to hold the water back.

But water levels kept rising.

"In 2011 the village was also threatened with high water so they put in a plan to build a berm around their property and they added another five feet to mine and over the years they've been adding more and more," Strueby said. "The water doesn't seem to be receding. Every time it rains, it gets higher."

Now the berms are all but under water, and the village has placed enormous sandbags around parts of the lake to hold the water back. But some salt water still seeps through and underneath Danceland.

"Right here we have it managed with two pumps going automatically so as soon as water builds up the pumps turn on and flush the water out," she said.

Water from the lake is also seeping underneath the main road that runs adjacent to the lake, creating puddles in front of people's homes.

Strueby said if there's ever a breach, she expects the water to rise right up to the 86-year-old horse hair-cushioned dance floor, shutting the place down for good.

"It could happen, but I'm an optimist not a pessimist and I hope we'll be able to control this better than we are now," she said. "Hopefully Mother Nature shines enough and evaporates some water. That's the only thing that will help us."

While the berms are doing the job of keeping the water back, one consequence of those berms is that they stop rainwater from draining back into the lake, creating puddles and more water seepage that people have to pump out.

Camp forced to adapt to water levels

At nearby Camp Easter Seals, camp manager Su Huyh said rising water levels have swallowed the camp's barn area where it used to provide horseback riding.

"We had to move it to higher ground," she said, adding they've also been forced to reconstruct their dock over the berms surrounding the lake to continue to offer water programs and pontoon boat rides.