System at a Glance
Watershed Indicators — Real-Time Stations
Infrastructure Context
Buffalo Pound Lake & the shared WTP
Buffalo Pound Lake is a natural prairie lake in the Qu'Appelle Valley, roughly 60 km northwest of Regina. It sits at the heart of one of the most unusual water supply arrangements in Canada: a single treatment plant serving two cities that are competitors in almost every other respect.
The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant (capacity 230 ML/day) supplies both Regina and Saskatoon via separate aqueducts — Regina's runs 65 km southeast, Saskatoon's runs 110 km northwest. The two cities jointly own the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation.
The single-WTP design means a major plant failure, fire, or extended maintenance shutdown could simultaneously cut water supply to both cities with no backup treatment capacity in either region.
Blue-green algae — the prairie water quality story
Buffalo Pound Lake experiences recurring cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms driven by phosphorus and nitrogen loading from intensive agriculture in the Qu'Appelle watershed. The blooms are not new — they've been documented since the 1970s — but they are getting worse.
Blooms require the Buffalo Pound WTP to switch to powdered activated carbon (PAC) treatment to remove taste, odour, and algal toxins. PAC is expensive and operationally complex; it reduces effective plant capacity during the periods when demand is often highest (summer).
Climate change is extending the ice-free season and warming lake temperatures, creating more favourable conditions for cyanobacteria. This is Regina and Saskatoon's equivalent of Vancouver's snowpack problem — a slow-moving supply quality challenge with no easy fix.
Regina Water System
Station Map
Qu'Appelle Flow Profile
Full Water Cycle