A preliminary report from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) states the spring melt rate is expected to have a significant impact on runoff yields in southern areas of the province. How that impacts subsoil moisture levels or surface water supplies depends on the speed of the melt, the report states. Most southern regions experienced very dry conditions last summer and into the fall freeze-up, and a below snowmelt runoff potential is being forecast by the WSA.
Pipeline in California oil spill split open, dragged along ocean floor, authorities say
The underwater pipeline that leaked more than 550,000 litres of oil into the water off Southern California was split open and apparently dragged more than 30 metres along the ocean floor, possibly by a ship's anchor, officials said Tuesday. The segment of the pipe that was dragged was 1.2 kilometres long, and had a gash that was more than 30 centimetres wide, the U.S. Coast Guard said.