A dam in western Manitoba is causing headaches for farmers downstream, including delays in seeding and damage to their land.
The Shellmouth dam was built more than three decades ago to serve as a reservoir and to help regulate flows on the Assiniboine River. Farmers downstream from the dam say problems with flooding are becoming more frequent and they are urging the provincial government to recognize the harm.
“Since ’95, we’ve had problems almost every other year, to varying degrees of severity,” said Stan Cochrane, chair of the Assiniboine Valley Producers Committee. “We can’t afford to take a hit every time this happens.”
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The committee expects to meet with Manitoba premier Gary Doer in mid-July. Cochrane said there are three main issues the committee wants to discuss with the premier, including management of the dam, land drainage in the watershed that feeds the dam and compensation to producers affected by flooding.
Cochrane estimated there were 19,000 acres of farmland flooded downstream from the dam this spring in an area that extends from the Shellmouth all the way to Brandon. The worst affected area is nearer the dam.
Although flows from the dam have declined, there are places where the river remains outside its embankments and where farmers face soggy land.
The province, which has control of the dam, needs to do a better job of forecasting how much runoff will flow into the dam in spring, Cochrane said. In years when heavy runoff is forecast, the province could start releasing water in January or February so it can hold more water back during the spring months.
“They need to do a better job of forecasting how much snow is in the valley and then deciding how much they’re going to release and how early.”
Drainage in the watershed that feeds the dam seems to be adding to the frequency of flooding, Cochrane said. Jurisdiction over how people drain their land also rests with the province.
“Everybody drains. It’s just that we’re the recipients of it, and we just feel that we shouldn’t have to be the financial recipients of it.”
Besides delays in seeding, Cochrane said affected farmers are also contending with stream bank erosion and foreign seeds being left behind, increasing the need for chemical controls.
