Water levels on the Duncairn Reservoir are up ahead of the incoming irrigation and recreation season. 

The Water Security Agency announced yesterday they will be temporarily surcharging the Duncairn Dam to store water in response to a lower-than-normal spring runoff in the region.

Sean Osmar, a spokesperson for the WSA, said this type of action for the Duncairn Reservoir is being carried out across Saskatchewan at several large bodies of water.

"It's part of our broader drought response operating plan where we're trying to optimize as much water storage and retention as we can in the reservoirs across the province," he said.

Currently, the Duncairn Reservoir sits about five inches above its normal for this time of year. The WSA has recently started a small release from the Duncairn Dam to filter into 

"It's almost like putting money in your piggy bank," he said. "We're putting the water we have in there now as a sort of savings and when we get into that mid-summer-season we should still have that five inches... Depending on conditions but we will be ahead of the game."

The WSA also introduced an overwinter plan for Lake Diefenbaker to retain as much water as possible due to a lengthy drought and lack of snowfall.

Thirty-three of the province's 45 major reservoirs are full or near full, another six are between 70-90 per cent filled, and six are not expected to fill with most of them in the southwest.