More flood-fighting tools for Manitoba

The Province and City of Winnipeg have invested millions into yet another flood-fighting tool.

Dubbed “Hesco Barriers,” these four-foot-tall metal gate structures can be stacked and are filled with sand. One “Hesco” segment can replace a 1,000-sandbag wall, in a matter of minutes.

The barriers were first used by the Unites States army to stop bullets, then later in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Most recently Fargo used them in their flood fight of 2009.

Now, the province of Manitoba has bought 43 kilometers of the barriers for $4.5 million, and Premier Greg Selinger says they will be used in rural Manitoba during this spring floods.

"These will be used in areas of Manitoba where dikes will need to be raised, likely in St. Adolphe and St. Agathe areas," Selinger said.

The City has also ordered nine kilometres of the Hesco Barriers at a price of $1 million, and they will be used mainly for primary dike raises along Scotia Street, Glenwood Crescent and Kildonan Drive.

The cost of a clay dike is about the same price as Hesco Barriers after factoring the cost of erecting them, and since the Hesco Barriers are re-usable, they become significantly cheaper to deploy the next time around, and they are also much faster to put up.

City officials first met with Hesco in late January to discuss using the barriers and after reviewing independent analysis by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and others, were satisfied with the results. They expect the barriers to be delivered by early this week.