The Manitoba Government's Water Stewardship Branch held its first technical briefing Tuesday.  At that briefing, Executive Director Steve Topping took media through how the province's flood protection systems work.  The current three-pronged defence of the Red River Floodway, the Portage Diversion and the Shellmouth Reservoir have all been developed as a result of one event - and it was not the Flood of the Century.

 

It was the flood of 1950.

 

61-years ago this spring, people were canoeing down the main street in Emerson due to flooding and over 10,000 homes were damaged and 100,000 people were evacuated in the city of Winnipeg. 

 

It should also be mentioned the 1950 flood event was smaller than what happened in 1997 and 2009 - and Topping says that's a sign that what's been developed works as it should.

 

"Our flood protection system provides substantial security and economic stability for the province of Manitoba."

 

The showpiece of it all is the 46km long Red River Floodway, which was initially built to survive a 1 in 100 year flood.  Topping says after what happened in 1997, it has been reinforced and will now withstand a 1 in 700 year flood.

 

And while it is hoped we will never see a flood like that anytime soon, he says historical data is pointing to one thing - the flood fight is beginning sooner every year.

 

"We're finding that the crests are coming earlier.  They're coming approximately three weeks earlier.  The American water is moving north and ice has not had a chance to undergo thermal deterioration in Manitoba, particularly on the north Red.  We're getting the onset of flooding earlier resulting in ice-jamming."

 

To help combat those jams, and the flooding that can go along with it, the Manitoba Government has invested $4-million dollars in the Ice Jam Mitigation Program.  As part of that, the province has purchased seven Ice Cutters and a trio of Amphibex equipment.  The Cutters do just that - cut the ice, while the Amphibex punches holes in it to break it up even further.

 

Topping says the program has been a success - particularly north of the city.

 

"Those people do deal with ice jams so we need to mitigate for that.  Our Ice Jam Mitigation program, which was initiated in 2006, has done a lot towards reducing ice-jamming to the north."

 

Although difficult to determine, Topping adds water levels in Selkirk have dropped an estimated four feet.

Speaking of water levels, people in rural areas are noticing a lot of melting going on - and not a lot of standing water.  The weather over the past few weeks has certainly helped with that.  Daytime temperatures just above zero, and overnight temperatures just below, have led to a gradual melt that is providing optimism that the flooding this spring may not be as severe as what is being forecast.  But Topping says don't get too excited just yet.

 

"Most of our flooding is coming from outside the jurisdiction of Manitoba.  It's coming from the Saskatchewan and upper Assiniboine, to the Souris River system.  Also, on the Red River, the Fargo area is still predicting a flood of the proportions of 2009."