WINNIPEG – Of all the steps the Government of Manitoba could take to prevent another 2011-like disaster, flood officials believe the announcements made on Wednesday top the list.
“We’ve decided to proceed with making the emergency channel permanent in the Lake St. Martin area and to assess and come up with an additional outlet from Lake Manitoba into Lake St. Martin.” Said Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger.
The two major projects hope to relieve flooding pressure along the Assiniboine River, in Lake St. Martin, and for communities along the southern shore of Lake Manitoba. The 1-in-300 year spring flood of 2011 caused widespread damage totalling more than a $1-billion dollars. Officials believe, with a price tag in excess of $250-million dollars, the projects are the most cost effective options moving forward.
“Our advice is these will have the biggest positive impact in the shortest run,” said Selinger.
An emergency outlet was dug between August and November of 2011 to allow water to run from Lake St. Martin into Lake Winnipeg. The proposed project allows the outlet to be controlled in advance of flooding, according to flood officials, and it may require a widening of the current channel.
“We’re going to be looking at new structures for that so we can operate the channel more effectively,” said Doug McNeil, Deputy Minister of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation.
No one, not even the opposition Tories, are debating whether the projects announced Wednesday are the right flood prevention projects for Manitoba, but questions are being raised about the projected start date and how the province plans to pay for it. On Wednesday, Premier Selinger said funding will come, in part, from the 1 per cent provincial sales tax increase proposed in the 2013 Budget.
The federal government has also been informed about the proposal but no funding has been committed.
“We’ve seen other projects announced three or four times and never been built so we’ll believe it when we see it,” said Larry Maguire, Conservation and Water Stewardship critic.
The permanent channel and Lake Manitoba outlet are not expected to be operational until 2021 with construction to start in 2016. That is not soon enough for some on Lake Manitoba’s southern shore.
“The ability to do this should be quicker. We should have shovels in the ground by the fall,” said Don Clarkson, President of the Delta Beach Association who said the project announcement is good news for properties on Lake Manitoba, but had concerns about the target start date.
“I know there’s environment studies necessary and environmental hearings to be done but the reality is this needs to get done,” said Clarkson.
“This is the major issue that came out of their own flood report review and this project should be on the books immediately,” said Maguire.
The entire project, funding and environmental approval, hinges on the federal government which only released a statement to Global News on Wednesday. “Discussions surrounding further flood mitigation efforts are ongoing” said the statement from the Office of the Minister of Public Safety.
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