Canadian flood perspective garnered by basin commission

Posted By Greg Vandermeulen

Posted 2 months ago

Morris area farmer, Robert Hamblin said drainage is to blame for increased flooding.

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Close to 150 people showed up to the single Canadian meeting in Morris on Nov. 19, part of a Red River Basin Commission project to study long term flood solutions.

Nineteen public meetings across North Dakota and Minnesota were held prior to this event, as part of the $1 million project financed equally by the North Dakota and Minnesota State governments.

Red River Basin Commission executive director Lance Yohe said he was happy to hear from the Canadian crowd, noting their concerns were in most ways similar to the Americans in the valley. "Drainage is a big issue everywhere," he said. "There's a general feeling that drainage is adding to the problem."

Many producers and municipal representatives at the meeting pointed out that water that used to take 21 days to arrive in the valley from the escarpment, now takes as little as three.

Yohe told the crowd that just because the report was being made to state officials, did not mean Manitoba concerns did not count. In fact, he said they hope to add the information they receive from Manitoba to show those governments how widespread the problem of flooding really is.

"Your feedback tonight is going to end up in our report to North Dakota and Minnesota legislatures," Yohe said.

He added that the thinking has to change when addressing the issues, and more needs to be done than simply responding to an urgent need. "Right now on our side, all they're doing is reacting to the last crisis, and we have to get ahead of that curve," he said.

Drainage too good?

Many producers told the commission that the drainage that has been constantly improved is the problem. "The one thing that is consistent is we are being flooded more because of the perfect drainage in the watershed," Robert Hamblin said adding that before the drainage was installed, bad floods only came every 50 or so years.

When calculating the cost of flood prevention, Hamblin said government doesn't consider the benefits they reap. "They're using this land and these municipalities as a holding pond," he said. "If there's that much value that money needs to be paid to those at the bottom."

In fact the subject of compensation came up more than once.

"We have to get paid to store this water," Cheryl Kennedy Courcelles of Ste. Adolphe said.

One producer with tongue in cheek, suggested plugging all the culverts west of the R.M. of Morris, as a way to show just what the drainage accomplishes.

Frustration was evident as one farmer talked about roads that act as dikes, flooding his land while saving others. He offered his solution - a "bulletproof high-hoe", which would allow him to cut the road. Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon tried to calm the waters. "The bottom line is nobody's going to go plug all the drains," he said.

He also stressed that people on the escarpment east of the Red also have flooding issues. But the crowd was not just made up of local producers. Municipal politicians, and even members of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation were on hand.

Potential solutions were also discussed, such as flood retention projects including dams or reservoirs, or restoring land back to swamp, which act as natural filters, slowing down the flow. Red River Basin Commission chair and R.M. of Morris Reeve Herm Martens said he was pleased with the event. "There was a very good crowd out," he said. "Most of it was calm, with good discussion."