Lake Wahtopanah, also known as Rivers Reservoir, was built by the
Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration in 1960 to supplement water
supplies for irrigation. It also provides the water supply for the town
of Rivers, stock watering and recreation. The reservoir is about 2,000
feet (610 m) wide and six miles (10 km) long. The deepest point is
about 50 feet (15 m). Riparian flows are regulated by a four foot
square gated conduit. High flows pass over a 110-foot (34 m) wide
concrete chute spillway. The reservoir stores about 24,500 acre feet
(30,200,000 m3) and covers an area of about 1,580 acres (6.4 km2). The
drainage area is about 1,260 square miles (3,300 km2) and extends well
into Riding Mountain National Park
Rivers Provincial Park
This park consists of 38 hectares of mixed grass prairie, and the
campground is located on Lake Wahtopanah, a reservoir that was created
by damming the Little Saskatchewan River. The name Wahtopanah is a form
of a native word watopapinah meaning “canoe people.” Rivers was named
in 1908 after Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.
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