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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Saskatchewan swells Assiniboine
The Assiniboine River will remain at high levels for the next six to eight weeks as a large amount of water has yet to drain from neighbouring Saskatchewan.
The upshot, if you're a Winnipegger, is you'll be lucky to see the river walk at The Forks by Canada Day.
Flood Fight
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The latest news about flooding in southern Manitoba this spring.
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Points of interest in Manitoba's flood fight
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Compare today's river level in Winnipeg with levels during the 1950, 1997 and 2009 floods.
On Thursday, Steve Topping, the province's chief flood fighter, said much of the water heading our way from Saskatchewan has yet to cross the provincial border.
That includes water from as far away as near Regina, which will flow into the Qu'Appelle River, as well as the coming release of water from Saskatchewan's Rafferty Reservoir on the Souris River. Both the Souris and Qu'Appelle rivers flow into the Assiniboine.
As well, there is still a lot more water to flow into the Assiniboine from the Kamsack area of eastern Saskatchewan, Topping said.
"We could see this prolonged flooding (for) up to six to eight weeks before we get any significant declines," he said of the Assiniboine.
Provincial flood experts predict that before the flood season is over, flows along the Assiniboine will be 50 per cent greater than during the 1976 flood -- the high-water mark for that body of water.
The Assiniboine near Miniota reached a record high level on Wednesday, three inches above the 1976 record. However, that doesn't mean that there will be records set at other locations downstream, Topping said.
Meanwhile, the province projected crests along all points of the Red River in Manitoba will be below 2009 levels.
The Red was to crest at St. Jean Baptiste on Thursday and was at near-crest levels at Ste. Agathe and Morris.
The Red and the Assiniboine rivers are both expected to crest in Winnipeg on Saturday, with levels on the Red at James Avenue expected to peak between 20.4 feet and 21.3 feet, Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton told the legislature Thursday.
In 2009, the Red River crest was 22.6 feet at James Avenue.
Flood facts
Highway 75 is closed south of Morris to St. Jean Baptiste because of flooding.
There were 1,981 Manitobans displaced from their homes as of Thursday, mainly due to a loss of safe road access.
81 provincial roads are affected by flood waters, with 50 closed or limited to local access only. Another 600 municipal roads are under water.
The Red will peak below 2009 flood levels for its entire length in Manitoba.
The Red was near crest levels at Ste. Agathe and Morris on Thursday and is expected to max out in Winnipeg on Saturday.
The Red at James Avenue on Thursday was 18.8 feet above normal winter ice levels.
The Shellmouth Reservoir in western Manitoba is forecast to receive near-record volumes of water from upstream waterways, prolonging the crest period along the Assiniboine River.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 29, 2011 A4
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