Nemei River

The Nemei River is a tributary of the Churchill River. It rises in Nemei Lake and flows northward to join Churchill River near Sandy Bay. It runs through low relief terrain of the Canadian Shield. The climate is sub-arctic.

Location
The Nemei river flows into the Churchill river below Reindeer River. The indigenous name means "sturgeon". The Nemei joins the Churchill downstream from the Island Falls power dam, built in 1929. Its mouth is at an altitude of 308 m. Phelan Lake drains northwest into Nemei Lake and then via the Nemei River to the Churchill River. Phelan Lake is accessible from the south via the Wildnest-Kakinagimak-Nemei Lakes water route. Robbestad Lake, McArthur Lake and the northern part of Kakinagimak Lake also drain northward via the Nemei River.

Environment
The Nemei River is in the subarctic climate zone. The annual average temperature is -3 °C. The warmest month is July, when the average temperature is 16 °C, and the coldest is January, at -22 °C. The region has low relief topography typical of most of the Canadian Shield. Generally elevations vary by less than 100 ft, but some hills and ridges to the east rise more than 350 ft above the lakes. The land around the river is mainly forested.

Saskatchewan Highway 135 crosses the river on a berm, with the river directed through the berm along tubular culverts. These were initially installed too high, emptying above the downstream river level and thus blocking fish passage. New 3 m tubular culverts were later installed at river level so the fish could swim upstream.