Local lakes are remarkably still thriving despite last year's drought and this year's sporadic storms.

In southern Saskatchewan, Lake Diefenbaker is the lifeline we have to fresh water, and much of it flows throughout our part of the province.

"Lake Diefenbaker, in general, is a very important reservoir in Saskatchewan and our most important source of water," explained Patrick Boyle, Executive Director of Communication and Client Services with the Water Security Agency. "What it does is we have mountain runoff that comes from the foothills in Alberta every year and that's the snowmelt that comes through there, and also rainfall, and that contributes the majority of the flows into Lake Diefenbaker."

Lake Diefenbaker helps provide water to the South Saskatchewan River, all the way to the Qu'Appelle lakes. With the province not seeing the drought like we had last year, blue-green algae has been forming and thriving in bodies of water.

"The only thing here [to be aware of] locally is the advisory put out a number of weeks ago about blue-green algae," Boyle said. "I know there was some reports at Buffalo Pound seeing some of that. You know, we get dry conditions in Saskatchewan, it's pretty typical, it happens, it's part of our natural makeup that we have in Saskatchewan lakes being nutrient-rich soils."

As for water levels in the province, not much has changed as many would think. Diefenbaker may be 0.5 metres below normal levels for this time of year, but it can actually be resilient despite dry conditions.

"There's not too much impact from that (drought)," Boyle explained. "You know Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir that can sustain multiple years of significant dry conditions, so from that end effectively we are swallowing up and managing what has been coming into the system."

Boyle adds that the amount of water in most lakes is at a seasonal normal, so things are looking good.