Flood of bad news for us all

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This article was published 25/01/2011 (5693 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brace yourself for spring, Manitoba.

The Red River could experience a flood not seen since 1997’s Flood of the Century, and the potential for flooding is rated as ‘high’ across much of the rest of the province.

In fact, higher-than-average spring runoff is projected for almost everywhere south of Gillam near the 56th parallel, the Manitoba government said Monday in its first flood outlook of the year.

With average weather, communities along the Red River are likely to be hit by a flood similar to the major event in 2009, flood forecasters said. But there’s a one-in-10 chance unfavourable weather could push the Red as high or slightly higher than in 1997. Meanwhile, the potential for spring flooding is also high along the Assiniboine, Souris, Pembina, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan and Fisher rivers, as well as the Interlake region.

“This is the first time we’ve had it on so many fronts,” said Steve Topping, a senior Manitoba flood official, of his 15 years battling floods.

The likelihood of a province-wide struggle against flooding prompted the Selinger government Monday to boost its flood-fighting arsenal. As first reported by the Free Press, the government will spend $22 million on new equipment and other resources that can be deployed throughout the province.

Saturated soils and above-average precipitation since last fall in most of Manitoba, central and southern Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Minnesota have created conditions ripe for spring flooding. According to long-term weather forecasts, the region could also see a lot more snow this winter followed by a rainier-than-normal spring.

While the major rivers are higher and the soils are more saturated than they were at this point in 1997, it’s too early to panic, government officials said.

“It really will come down to the weather — favourable, average or unfavourable,” Steve Ashton, minister responsible for emergency measures, told reporters. In 1997, there was a major snowstorm late in the spring that contributed to that year’s high water mark. But Manitoba could get lucky and enjoy a month without precipitation as it did last spring, Ashton said.

Flooding is predicted this spring along the Assiniboine River, affecting mainly agricultural areas. The area hardest hit is expected to be from the Saskatchewan border to Brandon.

Along the Souris River, the flood potential is rated as ‘high.’ Even with average weather conditions, a flood nearly as severe as the 1974 benchmark is likely.

Closer to home, Steve Strang, mayor of the RM of St. Clements, said the municipality is already contacting homeowners whose properties are most vulnerable to flooding.

Strang warns the municipality lacks the resources to protect all properties by itself and homeowners will have to pitch in.

“Our goal is to empower people (with training and equipment). There’s no way the municipality can deal with this whole issue by itself,” he said Monday. South of the city along the Red, where ring dikes guard communities and most homeowners have taken advantage of government programs to protect their homes from flooding, the main issue is the cost of looming infrastructure damage.

Ralph Groening, reeve of the RM of Morris, said following the 2009 flood, one-third of the municipality’s gravel roads needed repairs.

And it looks like it will face similar damage this year, he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca