This map represents the Little Saskatchewan River Watershed.

 

Otter Lake is in the Northeast. All of the water on this map flows from top to bottom and enters the Assiniboine River just north of the Trans Canada Highway in Grand Valley west of Brandon.

 

A lake typically has numerous inlets and one outlet, Otter Lake’s outlet is at the north end and flows into the Rolling River. The interesting thing about that outlet is that it reverses flow. In the springtime with high water the water flows into Otter Lake, once the river drops the water flows out of Otter Lake back into Rolling River and south towards Brandon. In flood years it can be quite spectacular here and in Brandon with lots of high water and erosion. There has been a proposal to put a valve on the reversing stream that would let water into Otter Lake but wouldn’t let it out unless the valve was opened. The idea is to raise the lake by eight inches and reduce some of the impact on downstream infrastructure and Brandon in flood years. The water would be released safely each year to ensure there is capacity for the next spring.

The project is unfunded at the moment but the hope is that this project will be completed before there is another wet cycle.