Mayors seek federal money

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Stu McKay, owner of Cats on the Red outfitters, surveys the ice jam on the Red River from his deck just north of Lockport. (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Reeve Don Forfar (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

WEST ST. PAUL -- A break in an ice jam gave residents of flood-threatened communities north of Winnipeg a chance to catch their breath and blast the federal government for not doing more to help.

"The federal government's got to change their attitude," St. Andrews Reeve Don Forfar said at a news conference Thursday with fellow municipal leaders and Premier Gary Doer.

In order to get funding for dike construction, it has to be torn down before the feds will pay, Forfar said. It's more cost-effective to pay for prevention than to cure a crisis, he said: "Let's be smart about this."

More "proactive" flood prevention is needed, said Mayor Steve Strang of St. Clements -- where at least 10 homes had been flooded and another 40 were at risk.

The province, municipalities and volunteers can't do it on their own, he said: "We need the federal government to step up."

Doer applauded the "logic" of the federal government's investment of $750 million in permanent ring dikes in communities south of Winnipeg that have prevented an exponential number of dollars spent on flood damage.

More than two weeks before the Red River is expected to crest, damage in St. Clements is already estimated in the millions, Strang said.

"It's a bad situation," said Stu McKay, owner of Cats on the Red outfitters north of Lockport, where another ice jam threatens his livelihood.

"We're going to get extremely wet," he said, watching the river rise. "We need a bigger ice-breaking machine," McKay said.

He applauded the province and municipalities for investing in Amphibex Excavator machines and other flood-fighting efforts.

But they are no match for the mighty Red and its massive ice jams, he said: "It's like taking a pocketknife to a gunfight. It cannot do the job."

He wondered why the federal government doesn't apply some of its ice-breaking expertise on the Red.

"The technology is there. The federal government has icebreakers to open the ocean. This is the 21st century," McKay said.

Millions of dollars in damage could be avoided if the annual jams were dealt with, he added.

Another major ice jam is almost inevitable to the north of Lockport at Lower Fort Garry, the narrowest portion of the river, McKay said.

"The people south of there are... not out of harm's way."

McKay said the cost of an icebreaker will seem insignificant next to the millions in damage caused by ice-jam flooding.

Ice-clogged culverts, a major dump of snow and a series of jams on the Red River -- not expected to crest for another two weeks -- are causing flooding in municipalities north of Winnipeg.

"This is not going to go away tomorrow," West. St. Paul Mayor Cliff Dearman told reporters.

Doer applauded the efforts of the local governments, their employees and volunteers. They've filled sandbags, erected water tube dikes and operated Amphibex machines on the Red River until ice-breaking efforts had to stop because the ice wasn't stable or safe enough for the machines to operate on.

"The safety of people is the No. 1 priority," Doer said.

Forfar added that blasting the ice isn't practical because, for it to work, explosives would have to be inserted in holes drilled deep in the ice. It's not safe to go out on the jammed-up ice, and dropping dynamite onto its surface wouldn't break up the jam, either, Forfar said he was told.

Doer urged more people to volunteer over the next two weeks: "We're still concerned about localized flooding."

In St. Andrews, where 30 homes were on evacuation alert, Forfar praised the helping spirit of Manitobans.

"The volunteer level is unbelievable," he said. They've had 200 people, three Hutterite colonies and a hockey team help with sandbagging.

Out on the road in St. Clements, the emergency services co-ordinator was calling for volunteers. "We need volunteers for everything -- manning the phones, making sandbags," co-ordinator Jim Stinson said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

THE Winnipeg Free Press wants to share your stories about the effects of rising water around your community.

Tell us your tales of headaches, heartaches and heroic actions by emailing city.desk@freepress.mb.ca.

Send your photos to readerpix@freepress.mb.ca, or send us your video.

We'll share the best video, photos and stories here in the coming days.

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A unique feature on the Free Press website is showing dramatic changes in the level of the Red River.

Photographer Mike Deal is capturing video of the rising Red River at The Forks and the floodway control structure south of the city. He's filing videos daily as the crest of the Red nears and viewers can see how the water levels change from day to day.

The videos are at winnipegfreepress.com.

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THE Free Press has introduced a live coverage widget on our website at winnipegfreepress.com to bring you the most up-to-date flood information available.

This widget includes a Twitter feed of the Red River's height at James Avenue in Winnipeg.

Reporters and editors will post to the widget, and readers can interact by commenting and posting updates of the flood's impact in their area.

We will keep this "Cover it Live" widget running for the duration of the flood threat.

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And please see our Flood Watch 2009: Slideshows, video and up-to-the-minute information on the rising Red at http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/floodwatch/

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 27, 2009 A6