January 7, 2009

Red River Floodway expansion ready to take on spring flooding

WINNIPEG

The official flood forecast is still two months away, but the province’s chief flood forecaster is keeping an eye on record snowfall in North Dakota.

Alf Warkentin says it could cause problems in Manitoba come spring.

North Dakota experienced record snowfall this month.

Close to 75 cm was reported in Grand Forks recently, breaking a record set in 1918.

Bismarck saw a record 85 cm of snow over the course of December.

Warkentin says flood risks in Manitoba could be compounded by the province’s already wet soil, due in part to a heavy rainstorm in the first week of November.

“The snow cover is at near record proportions in the U.S. side, but we need to remember that it’s only the end of December,” he said. “We’ve only got through a quarter of the winter, so a record snowpack at this time of year isn’t nearly as troublesome or nearly as onerous as if we had a record snowpack in March.”

Even a major flood likely wouldn’t hit the province as hard as it might have a few years ago.

This year will mark the completion of the $665-million Red River Floodway expansion, a massive project to widen the floodway around Winnipeg.

Excavation is more than 90 per cent finished and the project has already seen four bridges replaced to make way for the wider floodway.

The city is now protected in the event of a one-in-500-year flood, and by spring that protection should increase to a one-in-700-year flood.

Floodway construction will continue in 2009, including work on a new Lockport outlet and shoring up the West Dike south of Winnipeg.

Canadian Press

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