The 2012 spring flood outlook should have Manitobans exhaling with relief.
“Spring flood potential, at this time, remains low for the Red and Souris rivers, moderate on the Pembina and Assiniboine rivers and in (the) southern Interlake,” provincial flood forecaster Phillip Mutulu said at a Thursday press conference.
Southern Manitoba has low soil moisture levels, Mutulu said, and most major rivers are lower than this time last year.
Expect no flooding with favourable or average weather, he said, and, even with unfavourable weather, flooding should be minor and localized. Westman and The Pas regions got the same outlook, though soil in the rest of northern Manitoba was “pretty wet at the time of freeze-up,” and minor to moderate localized flooding is expected.
Steve Topping, executive director for Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, said Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin, at 813 and 802 feet respectively, are about four feet below last summer’s crest and continue to drop.
Risk of flooding from ice jams on the Red is also down, Topping said, due to thinner ice and three amphibexes already at work.
Infrastructure and transportation minister Steve Ashton said although the outlook is good, many areas of the province are still in flood stage.
“We still have 2,700 evacuees … particularly around Lake Manitoba (and) Lake St. Martin,” Ashton said.
More than $ 500 million in flood assistance has been spent, he said, with final projections expected to reach $ 815 million — about triple the 1997 figure.
The 2012 flood outlook can be found at manitoba.ca/flooding.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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