Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Spring may feel far off, but the government of Manitoba is making plans to address any potential seasonal flooding that could occur after a difficult flood season last year. The province's Hydrologic Forecast Centre released its first flood outlook for the season on Tuesday and is predicting moderate flows along the Assiniboine and Red rivers, and in the Interlake region along the Fisher and Icelandic rivers.
The Portage Diversion will be closed Saturday due to declining water levels on the Assiniboine River but the floodway will remain open, according to a release by the province. A flood warning continues for the Red River from Emerson to the Red River Floodway channel inlet. The province said the Red River is expected to peak sometime between April 20-22 in Emerson with peak flows ranging from 20,000 and 24,300 cubic feet per second.
The Red River Floodway is now in operation, taking some of the river water around Winnipeg into the diversion channel. The control structure was activated shortly before 10 a.m. Friday by Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk, who posted about it on his Twitter account. The province uses the floodway — a 47-kilometre channel between St. Norbert and Lockport that runs along the eastern edge of Winnipeg — to divert some of the Red's flow and maintain a manageable level through the city in flood season.
The province says it is preparing to activate the Red River Floodway to manage water levels within Winnipeg in the next 24 to 48 hours due to rising water levels that have been accelerated by this week's weather. The Red River's spring crest isn't expected in Winnipeg until sometime from April 9-16. However, the precipitation Manitoba has seen in the last two days, along with the gradual snowmelt occurring in the river basins, could raise levels above the riverbanks at some spots in the Red River Valley, the province said in a news release Wednesday.
