Jackman-Atkinson: Second class citizens?
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- Published on Thursday, July 10, 2014
By: Kate Jackman-Atkinson
myWestman.ca
Over the last three years, I’ve written a lot about the ongoing challenges faced by those living around Lake Manitoba. Despite everything learned in the 2011 flood, it looks as though not much has changed.
In the spring of 2011, record runoff and an inaccurate forecast meant that the Assiniboine River was bursting at the seams. Concerned about dikes and the need to protect the more developed areas east of Portage la Prairie, the province pumped more and more water through the Portage Diversion and in to Lake Manitoba.
This increased flow raised the water level in Lake Manitoba by five feet and at the flood’s peak, the diversion was pushing 35,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) into the lake. The diversion was designed for a maximum flow of 25,000 cfs and with no outlet, it took two years of drought before lake levels were back down to normal.
Over the last week, record rainfall and a rapid run off has again swollen the Assiniboine River beyond its natural banks. For residents and farmers around Lake Manitoba, 2014 is looking like another chapter in a recurring nightmare.
On July 7, flows on the Assiniboine River above the diversion were 32,750 cfs. The Portage Diversion was operating to redirect 16,950 cfs of that water into Lake Manitoba. But its only the start. The Assiniboine River is expected to crest at the Portage Diversion by the morning of July 9. At this point, the province says that water levels will continue to rise quickly and are forecast to reach between 50,500 and 51,500 cfs. Like in 2011, the province will be diverting approximately 34,000 cfs through the Portage Diversion and into Lake Manitoba.
This has people around Lake Manitoba very worried. The additional water is only part of the problem faced by area residents during the 2011 flood. Unlike flooding along the Assiniboine River, where the water levels rise and then recede, once the water is in Lake Manitoba, it has no place to go. The water sits on the land for months, destroying everything underneath.
The lessons of 2011 have had a positive impact for many communities. Brandon now has permanent dikes along 18th Street by the Corral Centre that seem to be doing a good job of holding back the water. The city let First Street flood and focused on protecting vulnerable properties while the water passes.
But residents around Lake Manitoba have seen little in the way of added protection and nothing to address their major concern. There is no corresponding outlet to compensate for all of the water going into Lake Manitoba from the Portage Diversion.
If nature had its way, none of the water flowing down the Assiniboine River would end up in Lake Manitoba, via Winnipeg and the Red River. With the diversion, the water takes a very slow and scenic route to Lake Winnipeg, its final destination, through Lake St. Martin and into Lake Winnipeg.
In 2011, the province built an emergency outlet from Lake St. Martin to help move more water into Lake Winnipeg and lower water levels on Lake St. Martin and Lake Manitoba. However, it was built and is operated only as a last resort, and it only has a capacity of 5,000 cfs.
After operating for close to a year, the channel was closed in November 2012, as required under the federal terms and conditions for emergency operations. The channel reopened earlier this month, but with a capacity far below the volume of water being diverted into the lake, rising lake levels are a certainty.
While some work has been done since 2011 to better prepare areas around the lake for flooding, many residents are still busy cleaning up from 2011. Many hay fields haven’t yet been rehabilitated and many residents are still waiting on compensation.
I heard a Delta Beach resident questioning the province’s unequal treatment of the province’s residents. While he appreciated the work the province and the armed forces were doing to protect residents along the Assoniboine River, he questioned why so little was being done to protect Lake Manitoba residents. After all, like it or not, they are the ones doing the most work to protect downstream residents.
