Retention ponds, rivers recede, cutting threat

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This article was published 04/06/2010 (5826 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Water levels on most of Winnipeg’s retention ponds have receded to normal levels, reducing the possibility of more sewage backups and overland flooding following rains expected this weekend.

Almost all of the city’s retention ponds, which were swollen following last weekend’s downpour, are drained to normal levels, emergency preparedness officer Randy Hull said Thursday. The exceptions are two in the Kildonan Meadows neighbourhood on either side of Plessis Road, he added.

Water levels on the Red River are also dropping, which increases the efficiency of the city’s land drainage. The Red River was nine feet above summer levels on Thursday, down from 12 feet on Monday.

"Every foot we gain from the Red River provides us with a bit of ease," he said. The city’s combined sewers do not drain as quickly or as efficiently into the Red or Assiniboine river when levels are high.

Environment Canada expected an additional 10 to 15 millimetres of rain to fall on Winnipeg Thursday night and also forecast a 40 per cent chance of showers on Friday and Saturday.

As of Thursday, a total of 687 of Winnipeg’s roughly 180,000 residential properties reported some damage from last weekend’s rains. Overland flooding affected 463 of the properties, while the other 224 has sewage backups, city spokesman Steve West said.

The city is continuing to ask residents with damaged or contaminated goods to call 311 to request bulky-waste pickup. Hull also asked residents to continue to ensure downspouts, sump pumps and backwater valves are functioning properly, if they have not yet done so.

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