Manitoba announces flood control infrastructure projects estimated at $250 million

The Manitoba government has announced flood control infrastructure projects estimated at about $250 million to help protect the areas around Lake St. Martin and Lake Manitoba.

Funding for the projects will come from the government’s “Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan.” The project will include building increased outlet capacity from Lake Manitoba, which requires first making the Lake St. Martin emergency channel permanent.

“We know investing in flood protection infrastructure pays off,” the province’s Premier Greg Selinger said in the government announcement.

“The province has saved more than $30 billion in damages since the construction of the Red River Floodway and the ring dikes protecting communities in the Red River Valley,” he noted.

“Our Manitoba Building and Renewal Plan will ensure we have the resources available to keep building flood protection for families and businesses.”   

The projects are in direct response to the independent report from the 2011 Flood Review Task Force and the Lake Manitoba Lake St. Martin Regulation Review Committee, which provided 126 recommendations for strengthening future flood protection, all of which were accepted by the government.

In the report, the committee recommended that an additional outlet be constructed on Lake Manitoba to deal with inflows from the Portage Diversion, on the condition that long-standing flooding issues on Lake St. Martin be resolved first.  

The provincial government said it is beginning work to make the Lake St. Martin Emergency Channel permanent. Assessment of design and location options for an additional Lake Manitoba outlet is also underway, according to the premier.

Provincial officials have informed the federal government of the proposal to make the emergency channel permanent and KGS Group Consulting Engineers are already working on design plans for increasing Lake Manitoba outlet capacity, Selinger said.

“During the largest flood in Manitoba history, the emergency channel brought Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin back to regulatory levels within a matter of months,” he said. “We know these two projects will be even more effective in regulating water levels on the lakes, protecting Manitobans from increasingly severe and unpredictable weather.”

The government said it has already begun work on or completed more than 75% of the report recommendations, with the total implementation cost estimated to be more than $1 billion.