Overland flooding forces Boissevain state of emergency

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/04/2023 (933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A flash flood Wednesday prompted the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton to declare a state of emergency, although the community’s head of council believes the worst has passed.

Temperatures reaching 18 C on Tuesday initiated a sudden snowmelt in the Turtle Mountains — which lie on both the Manitoba and North Dakota sides of the border — and caused the water to flow downhill to Boissevain, Judy Swanson said.

“It comes at quite a force, even in a regular spring,” Swanson said Thursday of the snowmelt.

“This spring, of course, the ground is still frozen and there’s nowhere for the water to go. Even in a day, I was surprised at how much had melted… by two o’clock in the afternoon, 60 per cent of the roads south of town had water on them. The culverts couldn’t keep up.”

As the water approached Boissevain, Swanson said one of the roads had to be cut to relieve pressure.

By Thursday morning, the water had shifted to the point where it was blocking some roads north of the southwestern Manitoba community.

Although one homeowner was asked to leave their property, Swanson said they have been able to return and all that’s left to deal with is the aftermath.

“We had one resident who had their basement filled with water from overland flooding,” she said. “We knocked on their door and said, ‘You got to get out, it’s like five feet from the door.’ It came really quickly and it left really quickly, but it left an aftermath of mess.”

Myna Margetts, who lives on a farm near Lake William, southeast of Boissevain, told the Sun via Facebook she couldn’t leave her property Tuesday because roads were flooded out.

Though the water had receded by Wednesday morning, she said there are still some washed-out areas and deep ruts.

Swanson thanked municipal staff for their hard work in dealing with the flash flood and Manitoba’s Emergency Management Organization, which dispatched workers to provide support.

The current state of emergency will be in place for 30 days, Swanson said, because of concerns ongoing melt could lead to further flooding.

By email, a provincial spokesperson said the municipality would be best suited to provide an update on the situation. However, they reminded motorists to avoid closed roads and obey detours to stay safe as the spring melt continues.

As of 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Manitoba 511’s website listed no road closures near Boissevain.

While the municipality also issued a boil-water advisory earlier in the week, Swanson said this was due to a water main break and not flooding.

This advisory was lifted Wednesday. However, the municipality told residents via social media Thursday a second leak had been detected and another advisory would be put in place until after the repair is completed April 17.

— Brandon Sun