Manitoba Infrastructure reports an Amphibex AE 400 machine will be deployed today on Caddy Lake in the Whiteshell to help keep critical drains clear. This Amphibex machine is owned, operated and maintained by North Red Waterway Maintenance Inc.
The Amphibex will be on the lake for several days removing floating vegetation, such as large bogs, which could block the tunnels that drain the lake. A rake attachment will collect the floating vegetation and deliver it to shore where it will be hauled away. Other lakes in the area will be assessed for possible clearing.
For safety reasons, the Caddy Lake boat launch will be temporarily closed until the Amphibex has completed its work.
North Red Waterway Maintenance Inc. is a corporation formed by the rural municipalities of St. Andrews, St. Clements and the City of Selkirk, with support from the Manitoba government. The Amphibex fleet crushes more than 25 kilometres of river ice annually.
The province has also removed another log that was stopping flow from the control structure between West Hawk and Caddy lakes to accelerate the drop in water levels on West Hawk, which flows into Caddy. Caddy Lake has come down 19 inches from its peak. West Hawk Lake is still basically at its peak, so this will assist in the drawdown of West Hawk and get some water out of the system to make room for any potential additional rain.
The management of flows has to be balanced against the other lakes and streams in the region as many are connected. Caddy Lake drains into the Whiteshell River, which winds its way through many of the other Whiteshell Lakes and eventually drains into Winnipeg River at Nutimik Lake.
The province now has real time water level gauges on West Hawk and Caddy lakes to enable monitoring of the impact of the log removal as well as any additional rainfall.
