The unusual circumstances of the flood of 2009 have provided the opportunity to improve flood protection, refine flood forecasting and operation of flood-control works, enhance ice management methods and further strengthen emergency management, Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick said.
“In managing these remarkable challenges, we have gained the experience to develop strategies to better deal with future events,” said Melnick. “We must also acknowledge and thank the hundreds of volunteers, municipal officials and provincial workers whose dedication and determination to respond to the unprecedented challenges helped the entire province weather the 2009 spring flood.”
Manitoba was subject to the second-highest flood on the Red River since 1852 with the largest volume flood since 1852. Unprecedented and persistent heavy ice conditions complicated floodway operations and caused all-time record levels north of Winnipeg due to ice jamming and extensive overland flooding as a result of frozen drainage systems.
The Red River Floodway, Portage Diversion and Shellmouth Reservoir in combination helped to reduce the crest in Winnipeg by 3.1 metres (10 feet). The province has invested $310 million since 1997 in flood mitigation works such as ring dikes and floodway expansion. Flood protection investments and innovative flood management efforts led to remarkable flood damage reduction savings in the order of $11 billion, said Melnick.
“The 2009 flood demonstrated the severe challenges that can result from exceptional spring weather conditions and this experience will be valuable in managing future floods,” she said. “Flood-control and flood-fighting improvements made since 1999 have paid off, but we learned where improvements can be made.”
The province is committed to a number of actions already including:
• Design work on improvements to the floodway inlet to allow greater flows into the floodway channel reducing river levels in Winnipeg during floods such as those of 2009 and 2006, and reducing flooding south of the inlet in major floods.
• Buy-out programs which have been established for residents of the Breezy Point (St. Andrews) and St. Peters Road (St. Clements) areas, to eliminate the future risk to residents and emergency responders from the sudden rise of the Red River due to unpredictable ice jams.
A cost-shared proposal presented by the province to the federal government on a wide range of flood mitigation programs including:
• flood protection for the Peguis and Fisher River First Nations, the Red River north of Winnipeg and other at-risk areas;
• enhanced mitigation measures to deal with ice jams;
• improvements to the City of Winnipeg’s secondary dike and sewer systems to reduce the risk of basement flooding from sewer backup; and
• raising of a number of provincial roads to improve community access during flood events
Ice jam mitigation methods and equipment which will be further reviewed and enhanced.
Discussions which are underway with the federal government and First Nation leadership aimed at improving all aspects of emergency management capacity for First Nations.
