By Ed White
Winnipeg bureau
Water levels one foot higher than in 2011 have prompted the Manitoba government to declare a state of emergency along the lower Assiniboine River from Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg.
The river is expected to crest at the entrance to the Portage Diversion at noon Wednesday, reaching 50,000 cubic feet per second, with 34,000 being sent north through the diversion into Lake Manitoba.
This is causing grave concern for cattle producers who live around the lake, which was purposely flooded by the Manitoba government in 2011 because of spring flooding. While great amounts of water can be dumped into the lake, the outflow is restricted, causing levels to rise if the inflow and outflow are unbalanced.
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More water is also flowing into the Shellmouth reservoir than is flowing out, with the peak expected July 11.
One crest has passed in Brandon with another expected July 17, as water from the upper Assiniboine and Qu’appelle rivers goes through.
The Qu’appelle is at record flow levels and higher than the previous crest.
Disaster sightseers are getting in the way of emergency flood-fighting crews and are asked to stay away.
Military, provincial, municipal and volunteer work crews are prepared to step in to shore up weakening dikes. So far, almost 213,000 sandbags have been made and 184,000 have been delivered, with 76,000 more expected to be produced in the next 24 hours.
The rural municipalities of Cartier and St. Francois Xavier are still looking for volunteers. They can be contacted at (St. Francis) 204-353-4005, and (Cartier) 204-864-2874.
More than 700 people have been removed from flood zones, with 55 municipalities declaring states of emergency.
