A pair of Manitoba towns are under a flood warning with the potential of overland flooding occurring due to the rising Red River.
St. Jean Baptiste and Morris could see water levels exceed flood stage by Wednesday.
RM of Morris reeve Ralph Groening says the next 24 hours are important with a rain/snow precipitation mix forecasted, but he is confident his community is prepared for whatever is coming.
“We have mostly well-protected communities and homes that have responded after 1997,” Groening said. “We’re not complacent, but we’re confident we can manage the challenge and we’re ready to move in the event this becomes a more serious issue.”
Groening says they are monitoring 12 homes that could lose road access and doesn’t anticipate any closures to Highway 75 at this point.
READ MORE: Manitoba issues flood watch for Red River Valley
Meanwhile RM of Montcalm councillor Paul Sabourin says the water in the St. Jean Baptiste area has already started to cross some roads and damage to roads and culverts is likely.
He thinks it could have been much worse after this winter’s massive snowfall, but the consistent melt also means there’s still lots of water left to mix with any spring precipitation.
“We should be fine, but we’re in a bit of an unknown short-term future,” Sabourin said.
A flood watch has also been issued for the Red River from Emerson to St. Jean Baptiste and from Morris to the Red River Floodway inlet just south of Winnipeg. A watch is issued when river levels are approaching or likely to reach flood stage, but unlikely within 24 hours.
Water levels are expected to peak between Emerson and the Red River Floodway inlet between April 8-15.
Winnipeg & Selkirk
Not much has changed in Winnipeg with 16 properties at-risk of flooding, the same amount that was listed in an update last week.
As of Tuesday night, the Red River at James Avenue is at 16.39 feet and is expected to peak between 17.3 and 18.3 feet between April 11 and 16. Before the Red River Floodway can be operated, ice needs to be broken up and cleared upstream of the floodway inlet, which is expected to happen by the end of the week.
North of Winnipeg, the Selkirk Bridge has closed due to high water levels on Highway 204 on the east side of the river. The city has also closed Selkirk Park while a preventative dyke is built at the boat launch.
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