Manitoba government says many flood recommendations already underway, costs could reach $1 billion

The Manitoba government said Wednesday that it has already been implementing many of the recommendations included in a recently released task force report about how major flooding in 2011 was handled.

The government said it has accepted the findings from the independent 2011 Flood Review Task Force and the Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin Regulation Review and Operating Advisory Committee and that work is already underway on several recommendations.

The province said Wednesday that 96 of 126 recommendations are already underway and that costs could be more than $1 billion.

“After every significant flood in this province, we take the time to analyze the event and our response, and immediately look at ways to improve our abilities to manage major flood events,” Steve Ashton, minister of Infrastructure and Transportation said in a statement.  “The two reports provide a wide range of recommendations, all of which we are accepting.”

“Senior officials” are already reviewing several projects included in the reports as part of the Assiniboine River-Lake Manitoba Flood Mitigation Study that was announced at the same time as the task force review, the government also noted.

“We have seen the value in the past of investing upfront in flood protection infrastructure.  It has saved Manitobans billions of dollars,” Ashton said.  “We are committed to continue investing in infrastructure that will protect homes, farms and communities from threats caused by the weather and geography.”

The task force report recommended improvements be made in the province’s hydrological forecasting unit, and the government said officials have identified areas of improvement and is working to implement them.

Supplemental emergency response training in preparation for the 2013 spring flood and a provincewide training program on managing municipal disaster financial assistance claims are also underway, the government said.

“We are also committed to continuing to work with the federal government and First Nation communities to ensure the level of preparedness and response is equal for all Manitobans,” Ashton noted.  “At the height of the 2011 flood, there were 68 people working in the Emergency Measures Organization and we will continue to look at ways to add human resources.”

Ashton also said the province has begun implementing recommendations for improving flood control structures including “hiring staff to increase provincial dam inspections, initiating a detailed study of the Assiniboine River diking system as part of the Assiniboine River-Lake Manitoba Flood Mitigation Study, and taking preliminary steps to enhance the Shellmouth gate project to reduce the impact of flooding in small to medium-sized flood.”

The province will also be working on doing environmental assessments and has already done water sample collection for analysis and has taken aerial surveys of the lake for debris.

The government said it will also continue efforts to assist First Nations communities, who were particularly adversely affected by the flooding, adding that it has already purchased portable flood barriers and steamers to be used for those communities.