Winkler narrowly avoids flood evacuation after drainage culvert failure

Some Winkler, Man.,residents narrowly avoided a flood evacuation Monday night after a broken culvert caused floodwaters to rise along the southern edge of thecity.

Around 9 p.m., City of Winkler public works supervisor Terry Froesegota call that a culvert near Highway 32 had buckled, preventing water from flowing through it and putting extra pressure on the dike.

When functioning, the culvert drains water east of the highway.

Around 1,000 residents in the south end of Winkler would have been affected if the water had spilled over into the city, which has a total popuation of nearly 14,000.

"We were ready to call a state of emergency and evacuate. It was that close," Winkler Mayor Martin Harder said.

With the help of the fire department and community members, the water was redirected over the dike and into a nearby field.

The city had warned residents shortly after 10 p.m. that they should stay away from the dike south of the city, and staff kept an eye on the situation overnight.

Shortly before midnight, Harder told CBC that the culvert had been partly repaired and water flow had been restored.

Not out of the woods yet

By Tuesday afternoon, the water had come down significantly but Winkler isn't out of the woods yet.

The repaired culverts are barely functioning, Harder said, and more rain may be on the way this weekend.

Even if the rain doesn't come, there is still snow in thePembina Hills escarpment, which runs from South Dakota to Manitoba, that has yet to melt.

"If the warmer weather comes as it's predicted to do [with] that snowmelt[and] with the additional water that's being held back from there this will get worse," Harder said.

"There could be some more problems coming this weekend."

The U.S. National Weather Service predicts that the Red River will crest in Grand Forks, N.D., on Wednesday, eight feet (2.4 metres) belowflood levels in the 1997 "Flood of the Century."

The crest in Pembina, N.D.,and Emerson, Man., is expected around May 3, at six feet (1.8 metres) below 1997 levels.

All Manitoba communities in the Red River Valley now have ring dike infrastructure that is designed to protect against a flood up to two feet above 1997 levels.

Winkler narrowly avoids flood evacuation

2 years ago

Duration 2:05

Some Winkler residents narrowly avoided a flood evacuation Monday night after a broken culvert caused floodwaters to rise in the southern Manitoba city.