Latest news with #MikeSteckhan
Hamilton Spectator
19-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Saskatoon riverboat owners say silt, sandbars stop plan for goodbye cruise
SASKATOON - The owners of Saskatoon's landmark riverboat were planning to weigh anchor one final time this year, but they've been blocked by sandbars. It's a story Mike and Joan Steckhan say goes far beyond boats and tourists. The couple operate the Prairie Lily on the South Saskatchewan River and say it's not how they wanted to bid farewell. 'The last year, with the river down and sand up, it's been a nightmare,' Mike Steckhan, the craft's captain, said in a recent interview while on the boat. 'We just have to cope.' He and his wife plan to retire this year and have put the 119-passenger vessel up for sale. There's been some interest, but they're still trying to find the right buyer to take over in time for the next summer season. The Prairie Lily, a popular attraction among locals and visitors, has operated in Saskatoon for 13 years. It has offered sightseeing excursions, dinner and brunch cruises, wine tastings, private events and the best seats to watch an annual fireworks festival in August. This year, the boat is staying ashore. There are still food services dockside, but its fireworks cruise — the owners' planned goodbye voyage — has been cancelled. Steckhan said low water levels have prevented the boat from operating. Silt has built up in the river over the last few years and sandbars have emerged. '(The river) is mostly ankle deep, that's how much silt is in there,' he said. The low levels are also harming wildlife: beavers have left and fish are dying, he added. 'There hasn't been enough deep channels (for the fish to swim into) where they're comfortable,' he said. 'I've been seeing more and more dead fish belly up, floating downstream simply because they were heated. They cooked.' Steckhan argued the Water Security Agency, run by the provincial government, needs to release more water from the upstream dam at Lake Diefenbaker to flush out the river. He said a flush every two to three years in the past helped keep the ecosystem healthy. 'In the last five years — low water or high water from the Rocky Mountains — we haven't got the flush,' he said. 'You start wondering, where's the water going?' The water agency's website says Lake Diefenbaker, a reservoir used for drinking water, irrigation, industrial purposes and recreation, has been low this year due to hot and dry conditions. It also says demand for irrigation in southern Alberta, upstream of the lake, remains high. Agency CEO Shawn Jaques said there's not enough water to flush the river. '(A flush is) equivalent to eight years of Saskatoon's water usage in three days,' he said. 'I empathize with the business owners, I understand that, but it isn't the right use of water.' He added a flush may not completely remove sandbars, and he disagrees ecosystems are being harmed. 'We have professionals that study aquatic habitats and health. I don't have that information handy, but there's still fish populations in the river,' he said. Mike Steckhan said he met with agency officials and pitched a compromise. 'I asked them ... 'Have you stopped irrigation until the lake recovers? Have you stopped hydro production until the lake recovers?' The answer was, no and no,' he said. 'The next question was, 'Will you stop?' And the answer was, again, no.' Jaques said the agency won't cut off irrigation. The province is planning to expand its irrigation network to provide water from the reservoir to thousands more hectares by 2030. Jaques said there's enough water for the plan. Joan Steckhan, the Prairie Lily's purser, said a healthy river also has value. 'It's not that we're against irrigation. We're in favour of sharing a natural resource,' she said. 'The frustrating point is this complete lack of recognition that this is a cumulative problem. It will not go away.' A similar story is unfolding in northeast Saskatchewan, added her husband. He said the Saskatchewan River Delta is ecologically deteriorating, because it's not getting the water it needs. Cumberland House Cree Nation has sued the province over the issue, arguing upstream industrial and farming activities have hurt wildlife and infringed on treaty rights to protect ways of life. The North and South Saskatchewan rivers feed the delta. 'All the silt that we're sitting on here, stopping this ship from navigating and screwing up the environment, is the exact silt they need in Cumberland House, because that's the fertilizer,' Mike Steckhan said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
19-07-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Saskatoon riverboat owners say silt, sandbars stop plan for goodbye cruise
SASKATOON – The owners of Saskatoon's landmark riverboat were planning to weigh anchor one final time this year, but they've been blocked by sandbars. It's a story Mike and Joan Steckhan say goes far beyond boats and tourists. The couple operate the Prairie Lily on the South Saskatchewan River and say it's not how they wanted to bid farewell. 'The last year, with the river down and sand up, it's been a nightmare,' Mike Steckhan, the craft's captain, said in a recent interview while on the boat. 'We just have to cope.' He and his wife plan to retire this year and have put the 119-passenger vessel up for sale. There's been some interest, but they're still trying to find the right buyer to take over in time for the next summer season. The Prairie Lily, a popular attraction among locals and visitors, has operated in Saskatoon for 13 years. It has offered sightseeing excursions, dinner and brunch cruises, wine tastings, private events and the best seats to watch an annual fireworks festival in August. This year, the boat is staying ashore. There are still food services dockside, but its fireworks cruise — the owners' planned goodbye voyage — has been cancelled. Steckhan said low water levels have prevented the boat from operating. Silt has built up in the river over the last few years and sandbars have emerged. '(The river) is mostly ankle deep, that's how much silt is in there,' he said. The low levels are also harming wildlife: beavers have left and fish are dying, he added. 'There hasn't been enough deep channels (for the fish to swim into) where they're comfortable,' he said. 'I've been seeing more and more dead fish belly up, floating downstream simply because they were heated. They cooked.' Steckhan argued the Water Security Agency, run by the provincial government, needs to release more water from the upstream dam at Lake Diefenbaker to flush out the river. He said a flush every two to three years in the past helped keep the ecosystem healthy. 'In the last five years — low water or high water from the Rocky Mountains — we haven't got the flush,' he said. 'You start wondering, where's the water going?' The water agency's website says Lake Diefenbaker, a reservoir used for drinking water, irrigation, industrial purposes and recreation, has been low this year due to hot and dry conditions. It also says demand for irrigation in southern Alberta, upstream of the lake, remains high. Agency CEO Shawn Jaques said there's not enough water to flush the river. '(A flush is) equivalent to eight years of Saskatoon's water usage in three days,' he said. 'I empathize with the business owners, I understand that, but it isn't the right use of water.' He added a flush may not completely remove sandbars, and he disagrees ecosystems are being harmed. 'We have professionals that study aquatic habitats and health. I don't have that information handy, but there's still fish populations in the river,' he said. Mike Steckhan said he met with agency officials and pitched a compromise. 'I asked them … 'Have you stopped irrigation until the lake recovers? Have you stopped hydro production until the lake recovers?' The answer was, no and no,' he said. 'The next question was, 'Will you stop?' And the answer was, again, no.' Jaques said the agency won't cut off irrigation. The province is planning to expand its irrigation network to provide water from the reservoir to thousands more hectares by 2030. Jaques said there's enough water for the plan. Joan Steckhan, the Prairie Lily's purser, said a healthy river also has value. 'It's not that we're against irrigation. We're in favour of sharing a natural resource,' she said. 'The frustrating point is this complete lack of recognition that this is a cumulative problem. It will not go away.' Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. A similar story is unfolding in northeast Saskatchewan, added her husband. He said the Saskatchewan River Delta is ecologically deteriorating, because it's not getting the water it needs. Cumberland House Cree Nation has sued the province over the issue, arguing upstream industrial and farming activities have hurt wildlife and infringed on treaty rights to protect ways of life. The North and South Saskatchewan rivers feed the delta. 'All the silt that we're sitting on here, stopping this ship from navigating and screwing up the environment, is the exact silt they need in Cumberland House, because that's the fertilizer,' Mike Steckhan said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2025.
CTV News
25-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
‘No channel anymore': Increased water flows not enough to save Saskatoon's river boat
WATCH: Water levels are expected to rise slightly this week because of heavy rainfall, but the increased flow won't be enough to get the Prairie Lily. With water levels expected to rise this week following the weekend's heavy rainfall, the Water Security Agency (WSA) is warning residents in the province to be cautious around the South Saskatchewan River. But despite receiving enough rain to raise Lake Diefenbaker by one metre, Saskatoon's riverboat doesn't expect to see enough outflow from Gardiner Dam to get back on the water. 'It's been getting worse year, after year, after year; we've always been able to find a channel using our technology and experience, but now it's finally silted up to the point where there is no channel anymore,' Mike Steckhan, captain and owner of The Prairie Lily, told CTV News. On Monday, the province's water regulator said it expects to see flows along the South Saskatchewan River into Lake Diefenbaker increase from 100 cubic meters per second (m3/s) to around 830 m3/s. Those flows are expected to peak on Thursday. Saskatoon will see outflows from Lake Diefenbaker through Gardiner Dam increase a lot less than that, with the WSA set to open the taps from the current rate of 65 cubic meters per second, up to 75. The Steckhans have canceled sailing for the season, saying they'll call anyone who had bookings to arrange an alternate plan or refund. 'We'll be contacting them. We'd ask them, please don't contact us, it's a zoo right now. We have an awful lot of tickets sold,' he said. Saskatoon Prairie Lily Captain Mike Steckhan and his wife Joan aboard the Prairie Lily. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) To try to keep the business afloat, the Steckhans say they won't be leaving the dock, but hope customers support them and come on board for other events they're planning, like cocktail hours in the coming months. When the boat is docked, they call the events along-sides. 'We're hoping that with the along-sides, dinners, brunches and so on. We're hoping that will generate enough revenue that we can keep our staff,' he says. The current WSA flow plan doesn't indicate enough water will be released to wash away the sandbars, the Steckhans say. 'Desilting or something of a cleansing flush for this river system, simply hasn't ever occurred to them. If it did, it's at the bottom of their priority list.' In their final season as owners of the Prairie Lily, before they sail off into the sunset, they're being realistic but admit they aren't ruling out a miracle from mother nature.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Saskatoon riverboat Prairie Lily docked due to low water levels, sandbars
The Prairie Lily river boat has run aground after over a decade of sailing the South Saskatchewan River. On Wednesday, owners of the Saskatoon riverboat said the water level is so low that they can't cruise the ship. "For the first time in our 13 years of sailing this ship, the sandbars have increased to the point where we no longer have a navigation channel," Mike Steckhan, captain and co-owner of the Prairie Lily, said in an interview. The economic impact will be huge for his business, which has stopped bookings and has been cancelling cruises getting into the season. Unless action is taken to increase the water levels, the Prairie Lily will be forced to cancel its season, he said. "There's no place that's deep enough for this ship. It's so low that there isn't a navigation channel for us to do our cruises safely, so we've had to cancel," said Steckhan. Sandbanks form when the silt carried by the river accumulates, and over the last few years, there hasn't been enough water running through to flush them out, he said. He's calling for the Water Security Agency, which controls the flow of water out of the Gardiner Dam, to increase the flow to remove the sandbars. "We're not asking for all the water in the lake. We're only asking the WSA to provide a volume of flow that allows safe operation on the river," he said. Will release more water if lake levels rise: WSA Water Security Agency president and CEO Shawn Jaques said that as of now, there are no plans to open the spill gates or significantly increase the flow of water out of the Gardiner Dam for now. He said that the current water level of the river flowing through Saskatoon is about 70 cubic centimetres per second (cms), which is equal to the amount of water flowing into Lake Diefenbaker — the reservoir formed by the creation of the Gardiner and Qu'Appelle River dams — from the west. "To put it into perspective, the median or the annual average flow typically is 145 cubic meters per second. So we're sitting at 50 per cent of what we normally would get," Jaques said in an interview. Steckhan said he wants to see 900 cms per second for 72 hours, or 400 cms for a number of days to mitigate the problem. Jaques said there have been dry conditions across Western Canada over the last three years, and the snowpack in the Rocky Mountains is also well below normal right now. "When you have a below normal snowpack, below normal precipitation through the summer months, it has an impact on the amount of water flowing into Lake Diefenbaker, which as a result, you will see less water flowing through by Saskatoon," he said. He said the lake provides 60 per cent of Saskatchewan's population with drinking water, as well as water for potash mines, agricultural uses and ferry crossings to be maintained. "If the lake level gets higher, or we get a large rain event in Alberta or the mountains or something that increases that inflow into Lake Diefenbaker, we will open the spillway gates, and we'll release additional water," Jaques said. Hard 'to not use a bunch of 4-letter words': captain Discover Saskatoon said the Prairie Lily is one of Saskatoon's most iconic experiences, and has helped showcase the riverfront to visitors and locals for over a decade. "It's also a business currently preparing for sale, making this disruption even more significant for its owners and staff," the tourism association said in a statement. It's hopeful that a path forward can be found that allows river-based businesses and users to continue to thrive in Saskatoon, the statement said. But Steckhan said he's frustrated by the situation. "Well, I'm an old sailor, and it's really a lot of hard work right now to not use a bunch of four-letter words. So that's kind of how I feel about it," he said.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Saskatoon's iconic river boat cancels final season until water levels improve
Saskatoon's iconic river boat the Prairie Lily is cancelling its final season due to low water levels in the South Saskatchewan River. 'The water flow over the last few years has been so low that sandbars have taken over the river. The Prairie Lily will have to cancel its cruising season if no action is taken,' Captain Mike Steckhan said in a news release Wednesday. 'Over the last few seasons, we watched the problem develop with the growing number and size of sandbars in the river. Since 2021 we have managed to sail in low water flow downstream from Lake Diefenbaker. We've watched the sandbars form in the river as a result of this low flow and no water events to clear out the sand.' Mike and his wife Joan Steckhan, who run the 119-passenger river cruise ship, say the Water Security Agency (WSA) has been retaining water in Lake Diefenbaker since 2021 due to lower rates of precipitation, so the city's stretch of water is no longer seeing the occasional 'flushes' that move sand silt downstream and clear the channel. The couple says local businesses, including the Prairie Lily, brought officials from the WSA out for a cruise last year to show them the conditions before they became an issue. 'No action has been taken,' said Mike. 'We contacted them last week after doing our annual pre-cruising river survey to advise the river was not navigable. We were informed on Friday that they will not release any additional water from the Gardiner Dam.' The Steckhans acknowledge the WSA needs to retain water for power production and irrigation but says water levels in Lake Diefenbaker are above historic average highs, 'and will continue to rise next month from the expected spring run-off from the above-average snowpack from the Rocky Mountains.' Right now, they say the WSA is just holding on to the excess water. 'We're not asking for all the water in the lake. We're only asking the WSA to provide a volume of flow, that allows safe operation on the river,' said Mike. 'If managed effectively, the river could be navigable at low water levels for another three seasons before additional action may be required.' The Prairie Lily was scheduled to begin its final season of cruises on Saturday. Until and unless the WSA releases more water, the couple are cancelling all cruises.
