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Flood waters wallop Peguis

First Nation's residents put up in city; lots of damage

By: Larry Kusch

Posted: 07/6/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

JANEK LOWE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Bill Cochrane Jr. surveys the flood waters at a property on Peguis First Nation Monday.

PEGUIS FIRST NATION -- More than 200 residents of Peguis First Nation are being put up in Winnipeg hotels after weekend storms washed out roads, tore shingles off roofs and uprooted trees that knocked down power lines.

Peguis's emergency co-ordinator, Ellis Cochrane, said Monday 150 to 250 millimetres of rain -- Environment Canada couldn't be reached for confirmation -- swamped an already flood-weary community in a deluge that began on Friday.

Enlarge Image

Bill Cochrane Jr. skips rocks across what was once a driveway belonging to the brother of Albert Sutherland (right) at Peguis First Nation. (JANEK LOWE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Enlarge Image

Bill Cochrane Jr. holds a leach on the driveway of a home that was evacuated after floodwaters inundated the area. (JANEK LOWE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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On Monday, evidence of the torrential rains and high winds that battered the First Nation two hours north of Winnipeg were everywhere.

A bridge over the Fisher River, which bisects the community, was washed out. Numerous trees were uprooted -- many of them landing on power lines, keeping Hydro crews busy restoring power -- shingles were torn off roofs, siding was ripped off exterior walls.

Chief Glenn Hudson said "well over 200" homes in the community of 7,200 have been flooded in a series of heavy rains that began in early June -- some with as much as 21/2 metres of water in the basement.

On Monday, Cochrane, said he was worried any more rain would back up sewers serving a large complex that contains band offices, a seniors home and a grocery store.

As of Monday afternoon, 207 residents had been evacuated to Winnipeg because of sewer backup and washed-out roads that left them isolated. About 100 more people are on standby. They, too, may soon have to leave their homes. One report said over 340 had been evacuated.

"We have to get the people out because we cannot access them," Cochrane said Monday afternoon before participating in a conference call with federal and provincial officials. "We cannot supply enough clean water. There's contamination of the water."

For those who remain, such as 76-year-old Maude Sinclair, there is the constant worry of flooding and sewer backup. Sinclair said her sump pump has been operating continuously since the weekend, except during two worrisome power outages. She finds it almost impossible to get to sleep for fear her basement will flood with water and sewage. "It's so scary," she said.

Hudson said Peguis residents are "upset and frustrated" by the situation and are growing impatient that the federal and provincial governments have yet to formally announced a plan for mitigating future damage at the flood-prone First Nation. He said if Peguis were a "white community," something would have been done by now.

In recent interviews, federal and provincial officials said they are working on a solution, but they couldn't say when an announcement would be forthcoming. Vic Toews, Manitoba's senior federal cabinet minister, said Ottawa was still identifying a suitable program from which to fund flood relief on the reserve.

The most recent flood is the fifth in the past 15 months in Manitoba's largest First Nation. Peguis saw more than 300 homes flooded in the spring of 2009. But the low-lying community, shaped like a basin, is also prone to heavy rains.

"People are getting tired and fatigued at this situation," Hudson said.

Several in the community blame the chronic flooding at Peguis on drainage systems that accommodate farmers south of the reserve. "If we didn't have any drainage outside the reserve, we wouldn't have a (flooding) problem," said Cochrane.

They also point to poor planning in the construction of Provincial Road 224, which cuts through the reserve. Willows are currently growing unchecked in the highway's ditches.

"When they put the road through they didn't (account for) the reserve and the elevation of the reserve," Cochrane said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 6, 2010 A3

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