Manitoba Water Stewardship

The flood advisory for the Seine River from St. Anne to PTH 59 has been downgraded to a high water level advisory. Overland flooding has subsided and the river has crested in the Lorette area. While low lying areas along the river are flooded, no homes are threatened. Levels should subside significantly over the long weekend.

A flood advisory remains in effect for Whiteshell Provincial Park. Lakes in the Whiteshell remain at near record high levels, creating serious problems for boathouses, some low-lying cottages and some campgrounds. Some roads in the Whiteshell are overtopped. While little further rise is expected on most lakes, levels will remain high until mid July even with favourable weather from now on. Logs have been removed from dams controlling levels in the Whiteshell. Additional logs were removed from White Lake Dam Wednesday and are being removed from Jessica Lake Dam today in order to reduce lake levels. However some campgrounds are partially flooded and there is water over some roads in the area.

The level of Bird Lake in Nopiming Park continues to decline slowly despite significant rainfall during the past 10 days. However the high water level advisory remains in effect for southern portions of the Park.

Lakes along the Winnipeg River are at near normal levels. Lake Of The Woods still remains below its average level for this time of year.

A high water level advisory continues for the Red River.

The Red River rose only about half a foot from Emerson to the Floodway Inlet during the 24 hour period ending this morning. Rises from Winnipeg to Lockport were less than a quarter foot due to the effect of Portage Diversion operation which continues to lower Assiniboine River flows entering the Winnipeg area.

The river level in downtown Winnipeg stood at 16.07 feet this morning, well above the normal summer level of 6.4 feet. The river level in downtown Winnipeg is expected to crest between 16.2 and 16.4 feet this long weekend. Without operation of the Portage Diversion, river levels in the City of Winnipeg would rise about one foot higher than presently predicted. Approximately 800 cubic feet per second (cfs) was flowing naturally into the Red River Floodway channel this morning. The total flow of the Red River at the Floodway Inlet was 41,600 cfs.

Predicted crests in rural areas of the Red River have been reduced by about one foot. Additional rises above this morning’s levels will be in the range of half a foot to one foot. Additional rises in the Winnipeg area will be less than half a foot. The updated forecast for the Red River includes 10 mm of rain expected on Sunday. If precipitation during the next 5 days is significantly greater than 10 mm, the forecast will need to be reviewed.

Flooding of some low-lying agricultural lands is underway from Letellier to St. Jean and will continue for another week or so. Flooding is not expected elsewhere. The high levels on the Red River are having a significant impact on recreation and area affecting navigation at St. Andrews Dam.

The Red River is presently 29.4 feet above its normal summer level in the Emerson area and 9.7 feet above the usual summer level in downtown Winnipeg. This is the third largest summer flood on the Red River. The summer flood of 2005 was the largest and that of 2002 was the second largest.

The Portage Diversion continues to be operated to reduce flows on the Assiniboine River from Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg. The Diversion flow this morning was 3940 cfs while the flow down the river at Portage La Prairie was 1570 cfs. The diversion flow will be maintained at 4000 cfs until about July 12 based on normal weather conditions. The diversion flow will raise the level of Lake Manitoba one-tenth of a foot.

The Shellmouth Reservoir water level this morning was 1410.41 feet with a spillway flow of 1650 cfs. The reservoir level, inflow and outflow are expected to begin subsiding this weekend based on little precipitation.

The reservoir inflow this morning is estimated at 1600 cfs. There has been no flow through the conduit since 10 a.m. June 7. Conduit flows may resume on July 3, 2007 unless significant precipitation develops.

Lake Winnipegosis is presently at its highest level since the mid 1950’s. Additional shoreline flooding could occur in low areas if strong winds develop during the next six weeks.

Water levels remain very high in the Saskeram area west-northwest of The Pas. While no homes are flooded, there are continued difficulties with cattle due to flooded pastures.