The Flood of ’09, once dubbed a “flood of inconvenience” earlier this spring, is now a full-fledged flood with all of the destructive force of some the worst floods from the past 100 years. Flood-protection officials are now watching the skies after the Red River appears to have crested in downtown Winnipeg - just two feet below the level of 1997's Flood of the Century.
Last Thursday, the Red crested at 22.55 feet above winter ice levels at the James Avenue monitoring station. This came only hours after low-lying portions of Winnipeg were placed under a precautionary state of emergency.
The river remains very high in the city and outside the city. Many communities in the Red River Valley have partially or fully closed their ring dikes and are now islands on what many are calling the “Red River lake”. Hundreds of MGEU members are working around the clock monitoring water levels and washed out roads, diking off low-lying areas and helping residents stay safe as the Red rises around them.
Here is the latest flood information released by the Province. (As of April 23rd)
· Northerly winds at 25 kilometres per hour are occurring over the Red River Valley today and will become light this evening and south 20 km/h tomorrow.
City of Winnipeg
· The decline of river levels in Winnipeg will be gradual for the next few weeks, even with favourable weather, due to the need to gradually lower the gates on the floodway control structure at St. Norbert. The gates must be lowered gradually since natural river levels at the floodway inlet will be declining slowly and controlled levels must remain just below the natural levels.
· With favourable weather, the level at James Avenue in downtown Winnipeg should decline to 5.5 m (18 ft.) by May 2 and to 4.3 m (14 ft.) by May 20.
· The crest of 6.9 m (22.5 ft.) at James Avenue in Winnipeg was the second highest since major flood control works began operation in 1969. The crest was 7.5 m (24.5 ft.) in 1997.
· Manitoba Water Stewardship has calculated the natural peak discharge of the 2009 spring flood at 126,000 cubic feet per second at James Avenue, making the current flood the second largest in over 150 years.
Emerson to St. Adolphe
· Strong winds and wave action can cause river levels at Letellier, Morris and Brunkild to fluctuate by 0.3 m (one ft.) or more. Wave action can erode dikes and closures. Vigilance should be increased when strong winds are predicted.
· River levels will decline very slowly for the rest this week, but will drop more significantly next week.
· With favourable weather, the level at Morris is expected to decline to the PTH 75 elevation of 236.2 m (775 ft.) by mid-May. The water will need to recede and a road condition inspection conducted before the highway can reopen.
· The Red River at Grand Forks continues to decline 15.2 cm (0.5 ft.) per day.
Floodway Inlet
Lockport to Breezy Point
Assiniboine River
· Assiniboine River levels from Baie St. Paul to Winnipeg will continue to decline slowly for the rest of this week.
· River levels are now declining rapidly in the Griswold to Brandon area with a decline of 0.46 m (1.5 ft.) at Griswold since yesterday morning. The river is within its banks at Griswold and will be below flood stage at Curran Park in Brandon by tomorrow.
· The outflow from the Shellmouth Reservoir remains at 50 cfs. The reservoir water level has risen 13.1 cm (5.2 in.) since yesterday and stood at 426.6 m (1,399.5 ft.) this morning. The level is expected to rise close to the normal summer level of 427.5 m (1,402.5 ft.) by early May.
Souris River
· Crest forecasts were reduced 0.3 m (one ft.) more yesterday based on updated flow projections for Westhope, N.D., issued by the U.S. National Weather Service. With continued favourable weather, crests in Manitoba may be even lower than indicated yesterday.
· Crests at Coulter, Melita and Hartney will be about 0.6 m (two ft.) lower than those of 1999, whereas crests from Souris to Wawanesa will be close to 0.9 m (three ft.) lower than in 1999.
· Significant over-bank flooding is underway from the U.S. border to just south of Melita. The river is expected to remain within its banks at points from just north of Melita to Wawanesa.
· The duration of flooding in the Coulter area should be much shorter than in 1999 unless unusually heavy rain develops as occurred in 1999 when flooding lasted into June.
Pembina River
· The level declined 10.7 cm (4.2 in.) at La Rivière during the 24-hour period ending this morning.
· Crests from Rock Lake to La Rivière have been similar to those of 1974, which was among the largest floods in recent decades.
· Rock Lake had declined to 407.4 m (1,336.75 ft.) as of this morning. By Sunday, it will have declined 0.91 m (three ft.) from the crest and will no longer be a significant concern.
· The level of Pelican Lake was 412.4 m (1,352.9 ft.) yesterday evening. The outlet control works continue to be operated at the maximum outflow possible (425 cfs today) to reduce the lake to its desirable level of 412 m (1,351.7 ft.).
· The Pembina River at Neche has declined another three cm (1.2 in.) since yesterday and will continue to decline slowly. There is no longer a concern about border overflows or flooding at Gretna or Halbstadt.
Other Rivers
· Overland flooding continues in the Interlake region but is generally subsiding. Flooding could easily be prolonged or increased if significant precipitation were to develop during the next few weeks.
Lakes
· Ice pushed up on shores by strong winds can cause significant damage and pose a risk to low‑lying cottages. Those who have experienced such difficulties before are advised to take whatever precautions may be feasible, such as moving valuables to higher ground.
· Lakes in the Whiteshell area are well above their summer target levels, which is not unusual during spring run-off. Brereton Lake is near a record high level and logs are being removed to reduce the lake levels.
Overland Flooding
· Specific forecasted crest stages are shown on the daily flood sheets issued by Manitoba Water Stewardship. This information can be viewed at:
www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/floodinfo/floodsheet.html.
Flood Response
· The projects to raise the ring dike around Melita and the sandbag dike on PTH 3 are now complete.
· Check highway conditions before travelling at www.manitoba.ca, 204-945-3704 or 1‑877‑627‑6237.
· The Flood Liaison Offices will reduce their hours of operation to 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. beginning today. The offices have handled over 1,500 calls since they were established. They are located in Winnipeg (945-2354), Morris (204-746-7325) and Brandon (204-729-1220). After-hours flood emergencies should be directed to local municipal offices.
View the province's live web cam at the floodway
Send us Your Flood Pics and Stories
If you have any Flood 2009 stories or pictures you'd like to share, send them to resourcecentre@mgeu.ca. We'll pick the best and post them here at mgeu.ca