Manitoba announces new projects for flood protection

As Manitobans once more brace themselves against another spring flood, the Manitoba government has announced it will invest a further $65 million on flood protection.
On April 11, Premier Gary Doer said the government will invest $40 million towards improving the capacity of the Red River Floodway around Winnipeg, and $25 million on protecting rural communities.
The government has commissioned KGS Engineering to do a study of various improvement options for the Winnipeg Floodway, taking into account the social, economic and environmental effects of any changes. Doer said they will not approve any changes until the results of the study are known. When the great flood of the century occurred in 1997, communities upstream of Winnipeg were convinced the floodworks around Winnipeg had made the flooding in their communities much worse.
Already approximately 1,600 projects have been completed or are under way as part of the $130 million Canada-Manitoba Partnership Agreement on Red River Valley Flood protection. These include the building of a ring dike at Ste. Agathe, refurbishment of the inlet control structure on the Red River Floodway, and restoration of the Floodway’s west dike.