The Manitoba Water Strategy - Government of Manitoba

FLOODING
The objective of Manitoba’s flooding policies is to alleviate human suffering and minimize the
economic costs of damages caused by flooding.
These policies primarily seek to reduce damages
and human suffering caused by flooding, through
the control of development in flood prone areas
and the exploration of economically viable measures
to reduce flood damages. Practical means to
decrease flood vulnerability need to be developed
and implemented throughout the province, recognizing
the differences within and between various
regions.
Flooding
• Floodplain mapping for the entire province is
incomplete.
• Human development in unprotected, flood prone
areas increases flood damage costs.
• Flooding of farmland and infrastructure
throughout Manitoba causes social and
economic hardship.
• Flash flooding and erosion along the Manitoba
escarpment causes significant damage to property.
• The City of Winnipeg and the Red River Basin
remain vulnerable to a flood larger than that of
1997, causing great social and economic hardship.
• Manitoba basins remain vulnerable to flooding.
• Responsibility and authority for flood preparedness,
compensation and mitigation can be
unclear.
• The level of flood protection across Manitoba is
inconsistent.
• Localized flooding continues to occur, caused
by land use and land drainage changes in the
watershed.
• Hydroelectric projects have caused flooding in
the past.
Actions Today
• Increased the level of flood protection in the
Red River Basin through the rural flood-proofing
program by building community ring dikes,
and protecting homes, businesses and communities.
• Increased the level of flood protection for the
City of Winnipeg, including development of the
Red River Floodway expansion option and
allocation of $160 million from the provincial
and federal governments for the first phase, as
well as investments from the City of Winnipeg,
towards the project.
• Developed and implemented land-use planning
strategies to help ensure development does
not occur in areas of high flood risk.
• Announced expanded Red River Floodway
compensation legislation.
• Improved and expanded real-time hydrological
monitoring and forecasting, with timely provision
of such information to the municipalities
and other users.
• Constructed roads and transportation corridors
to minimize potential flooding impact to lands
and residences.
• Started a process to use low-impact hydroelectric
production, which can reduce or eleminate
upstream flooding.
16 The Manitoba Water Strategy