Provincial campground damaged by floods

One of the province’s most popular camping destinations, Spruce Woods Provincial Park, has been damaged by floodwater from the swollen Assiniboine River.

"It’s pretty heart breaking; Tim’s staff put a lot of heart and soul into this campground, a lot of these buildings have been retrofitted and refurbished over the last couple of years," said Brian Ogilvie, Regional Services Superintendent.

On Friday, Manitoba Conservation took members of the media on the tour of the semi-submerged park, pledging to repairing the damages in time for the summer camping season.

"Summer provides valuable time for families to get outside and enjoy Manitoba’s backyard in our provincial parks," Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said in a recent news release, "As soon as the flood water recedes, our parks crews will work diligently to ensure Manitobans can access the campsites as soon as possible."

No new reservations will be taken for the lower part of the campground, and Manitoba Parks is contacting people with current reservations for dates before June 30 to make alternate arrangements. The upper campground, which includes yurts, 30 family group campsites and 43 other sites, is still scheduled to open May 13.

"Fortunately the upper campsite is on higher ground so Manitobans can still enjoy the great outdoors in beautiful Spruce Woods this May long weekend and throughout June," added Agricultural, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Stan Struthers.

Ice jams in mid-April caused levels on the Assiniboine River to rise significantly, flooding the lower Kiche Manitou campground. Dikes were in the process of being built and have since been repaired and completed, but the area is still underwater and several buildings are submerged.

"I do want to stress that it’s part of a great big flood we’re having right now, " Struthers pointed out as he toured the grounds by boat on Friday.

Workers are pumping the water out, but the lower campground will remain closed at least until the end of June.

"We have a dike that’s holding back another four to five feet of water and we’re trying to maintain that ’cause we don’t want to lose any more than we lost," explained Tim More, District Park Supervisor.

Recent flood forecasts for the Assiniboine River predict that water levels will remain high for several weeks. The damage to the park and campground will be fully assessed once the floodwaters recede.