Manitoba flood risk below average

Manitoba suffers through flooding of some sort almost every spring, but officials say 2015 is shaping up to be almost worry-free.

The provincial government says the risk of flooding is low in most areas, thanks to a warmer-thanusual winter that saw below-normal snowfall amounts.

Because of warm weather in early March, the peak spring runoff has already occurred on most rivers in the south, including the Red, the Assiniboine, the Souris and the Fisher River.

Steve Topping, the province’s head of water management, says it appears unlikely the government will need to use the Red River Floodway. The canal diverts rising water around Winnipeg.

The few areas of concern are mostly in the north where the melt is just underway and a lot of snow remains on the ground.

The province says that there is minor-to-moderate risk of flooding for some low-lying land along the Saskatchewan and Carrot rivers.

The government says lake levels are generally high, but almost all are expected to remain below flood stage, including Lake Manitoba, Dauphin Lake and Lake Winnipegosis.

Lake St. Martin is currently at its traditional flood stage, but the province says communities are well protected and only low-lying agricultural lands may see some flooding.

“Generally speaking, we have good news compared to what we had ... in the past,” Fisaha Unduche, the province’s chief flood forecaster, said Friday.

Unduche, warned, however, that things could change if there is a string of bad weather.

He also cautioned that some recent floods have occurred in late spring or summer because of wet weather.