Brightwater Creek is a river in south central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River in a region called the

Prairie Pothole Region The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR; french: Région des cuvettes/fondrières des prairies) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier act ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, which extends throughout three

Canadian provinces Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

and five U.S. states. It is also within Palliser's Triangle and the

Great Plains ecoregion The ecology of the Great Plains is diverse, largely owing to their great size. Differences in rainfall, elevation, and latitude create a variety of habitats including short grass, mixed grass, and tall-grass prairies, and riparian ecosystems. Th ...

Course

Brightwater Creek starts south of

Kenaston Kenaston ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of McCraney No. 282 and Census Division No. 11. Kenaston is located on Highway 11 (Louis Riel Trail) at the junction of Highwa ...

in the south-east corner of the RM of Rosedale No. 283. After a short jog west, it turns north and travels in a north-northwest direction, passing Highway 15 about 12 km west of Kenaston, until it flows into Brightwater Reservoir. Brightwater Reservoir was created by the building of the Brightwater Creek Dam in 1967 as part of the South Saskatchewan River Project, which included the building of

Gardiner Dam The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the third largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world. Construction on Gardiner Dam and the smaller Qu'Appelle River Dam was started ...

and the creation of Lake Diefenbaker. From the dam, the river takes a meandering course northwards and crosses Highway 764. Then it travels north towards Indi Lake, past the closed basin Proctor Lake (), and into Brightwater Lake. Indi Lake flows to Brightwater Creek via a short stream. At the northern end of Brightwater Lake, at the point where the river leaves the lake, is the town of Dundurn. From there, the river travels north past

Camp Dundurn Canadian Forces Detachment Dundurn (also CFD Dundurn) is a Canadian Forces facility located near the town of Dundurn, Saskatchewan and approximately 40 km south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan along the east bank of Brightwater Creek. Camp Dundur ...

and empties into the South Saskatchewan River.

Beaver Creek Conservation Area

Beaver Creek Conservation Area () is a regional park that was founded in 1979 and is operated by the Meewasin Valley Authority. It is accessed from Highway 219, south of Saskatoon, and located on the estuary of Brightwater Creek at the South Saskatchewan River. The community of Beaver Creek is about from the park. The interpretive centre was built in 1984 and offers interactive activities for school groups. There are three different trails, Living Sky, Beaver Creek Discovery, and Beaver Creek River View, that traverse the park. The trails are accessible by walking, biking, and, in the winter, cross-country skiing. The land the park encompasses has been used as a nature park since 1913 and protects the local habitat, including sand dunes, forests, prairie grasslands, river valleys, and marshes. Animals, birds, and plants such as deer, fox, beaver, chickadee, smooth goosefoot, and the common nighthawk are commonly found in the park.

Brightwater Reservoir

Brightwater Reservoir () is a man-made lake in the RM of Rosedale No. 283 created in 1967 when Brightwater Creek Dam, an

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

, was built on the Brightwater Creek. The reservoir has a surface area of and a maximum volume of . The dam is located at the north end of the lake and is high. Brightwater Creek enters the lake from the south while the aqueduct inflow is located at the west end of the dam. The outflows are at the east end of the dam. The outlet for the aqueduct is referred to as the riparian outlet. The aqueduct system is part of the South Saskatchewan River Project. The portion of aqueduct that flows into Brightwater Reservoir originates at

from Lake Diefenbaker. Another reservoir, Broderick Reservoir, is along the same aqueduct en route from Lake Diefenbaker. After the aqueduct leaves Brightwater Reservoir, it heads directly north towards Indi Lake. While Brightwater Creek runs along the west side of Indi Lake, the aqueduct runs along the east side en route to Blackstrap Lake.

Brightwater Lake

Brightwater Lake (), also known as Brightwater Marsh, is a shallow, oval-shaped marshy lake along the course of Brightwater Creek. The area covered by the lake is approximately long by wide. Brightwater Creek enters the lake from the south and exits it from the north, near the town of Dundurn. During dry years, the lake almost completely dries up. It is above sea level.

Fishing

Fishing is allowed on Brightwater Creek; the most popular species caught are northern pike and yellow perch.

References