Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Equipment working north of Winnipeg to cut jams, floods
JOE.BRYKSA@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image
Amphibex machines break up ice on the Red River Tuesday.
The fight against the coming spring flood is already in high gear north of Winnipeg as ice-smashing equipment makes its way south from Netley Creek towards Selkirk.
The province's two ice-busting Amphibex machines were put on display Tuesday near Breezy Point, chopping in unison through the thick ice of the Red River.
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The goal is to break up as much river ice as possible as far south as the Selkirk Bridge so that when the higher water arrives on the Red River, it freely pushes the ice chunks into Netley Creek. If things go as planned, the threat of ice jams that cause flood waters to back up will be reduced.
"The focus is our mitigation efforts this year to prevent, to avoid the buildup of ice jamming that was experienced in this area," Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick said.
Last spring, dozens of homes north of Winnipeg were unexpectedly besieged by huge chunks of ice and flooding that forced the evacuation of Breezy Point. Homes on the east side of the Red were also flooded out. During the past year, the province bought out 60 low-lying properties.
To avoid a repeat of last year and what happened in 2007, when ice jams caused unexpected flooding in Selkirk, the province moved up its ice-busting plans by about two weeks. Besides the two Amphibexes, the province has five smaller ice-cutting machines that score the ice in a grid pattern before the Amphibexes come along. As of Tuesday, about three kilometres of river ice had been broken up and another 22 kilometres of ice had been cut.
"We've made tremendous strides this year, unprecedented from other years," Sekirk Mayor Dave Bell said.
Ice on the Red River usually ranges from 46 to 71 centimetres (18 to 28 inches) thick. At this time last year, it was 61 to 91 cm (24 to 36 inches) thick.
The province's ice-breaking program is now budgeted at $1 million, Melnick said.
She added that the province is watching closely what is happening in North Dakota, where flood forecasters have warned that this year could be as bad as last year's near-catastrophic flooding of the Red in Fargo.
"We're watching every day not only what's happening in Fargo, there's what's happening on the tributaries, there's what's happening further south in Manitoba," Melnick said. "It's like big puzzle and we have to put all the pieces together."
Fargo had rain and above-average temperatures Tuesday, but so far the melt has been gradual. As of Tuesday, the Red River had risen about five inches in the last five days.
The province also wants to break up ice on the Assiniboine River near the Portage Diversion.
There are no plans to break up ice at the Red River Floodway inlet south of Winnipeg.
Melnick asked that snowmobilers avoid the area and that anyone with an ice-fishing shack still on the river remove it as soon as possible.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 10, 2010 A5
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