It's news flooded communities don't want to hear.

The Saskatchewan Watershed Authority (SWA) says it has to release more water from dams in the region because the reservoirs are filled to the brim.

Dale Hjertaas, of the SWA, says decisions to release water aren't made lightly.

"We're just dealing with unprecedented amounts of water. It's like your bathtub, you can leave the tap on and you either pull the drain or it flows over onto the floor. Having it spill over the top of the dam and wash out the dam isn't a good option," Hjertaas said Wednesday.

Hjertaas says it's the rainfall that has created this current situation.

"Normally in Saskatchewan, it's over with the spring run-off. It's just been one rain event after another. The whole watershed has gotten wetter and wetter, the soil is so wet, it doesn't want to absorb any more water. So when we got that big rain event Thursday and Friday, it just ran off," he said.

Hjertaas refutes claims that more water should have been released pre-spring run-off. He says they did release water in the winter but the system can't handle all the rain.

Twenty-four Saskatchewan communities have now declared states of emergency.

Photo of Rafferty Dam courtesy of swa.ca

Edited by News Talk Radio’s Sabeen Ahmad.