One of Eric McLean’s soybean fields, near Oak River. The 16-inch culvert fell behind after torrential rain, he said,

Southwest storm shreds crops, trees

“It’s just a mess”: high winds, hail flatten fields, smash windows and siding

Farmers near Oak River and Rivers are surveying the damage after a storm pummeled fields and yards with hail, wind and torrential rain. “It’s like the trees got shredded,” said Reeve Bob Christie of the RM of Oakview. The storm cut a swath between Rivers and Oak River, just northwest of Brandon early Wednesday evening.



Animals at Minnedosa's Bison Park are gathered in front of their now-flooded pasture July 1.

PHOTOS: More rain en route as water damage continues

Southern Manitoba can expect another five to seven days of “widespread precipitation” and “occasional heavy thunderstorms” with the potential for more overland flooding, the provincial lood forecasting agency said Friday. Storms could develop over most southern, southwestern and southeastern Manitoba watersheds during that period, bringing up to 100 millimetres of “heavy localized” rain, the provincial

A root wad buffers the bank from erosion and simultaneously provides fish habitat.

Project stabilizes creek bank, enhances fish habitat

Roseilse Creek is home to a state-of-the-art project 
that looks like an all-round winner

A riverbank stabilization project on the Roseilse Creek is demonstrating how to restore, rebuild, rehabilitate and enhance fish habitat and the riparian area along the waterway. The project, which involves the Pembina Valley Conservation District (PVCD), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnership program, AAE Tech Services and the Rural Municipality of

Lake Winnipeg, June 2017.

New report paints dire picture of Canadian freshwater systems

Watershed Report is a first-time assessment of all 25 of Canada’s watersheds

The long-held view of Canada’s fresh water as both clean and abundant is being challenged by a new report detailing the threats facing this country’s lakes, streams and rivers. The World Wildlife Fund-Canada’s Watershed Report, a national assessment is a first-ever attempt to document the state of Canadian watersheds, including its 25 watersheds and 167


Multiple flooding events in the Assiniboine River basin the past several years have seen crops losses increase in many jurisdictions.

MCDA updated on progress of Aquanty project

Conservation districts could one day use the program to run water-based scenarios in their jurisdictions

It’s no crystal ball, but when a new computer modelling program now under development is complete, a much clearer picture how various flood and drought scenarios could impact the rural landscape will emerge. Delegates at last month’s Manitoba Conservation District Association annual convention heard more about how a new HydroGeoSphere model under construction will work

Local residents and invited dignitaries recently celebrated the planting of a train-themed shrubbery labyrinth at Rivers, including (L to R- back row) Donna Morken, chair of Rivers Train Station Restoration Committee, Bob Sopuck, MP for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa, MLA Greg Nesbitt of the Riding Mountain Constituency (L to R- front row) Heather Lamb, CN retiree, Marlene Hayhurst, president of the Rivers Royal Canadian Legion Branch #75 Ladies Auxiliary and member of the Rivers Train Station Restoration Committee, Raymond Carriere, the president and founder of Communities in Bloom and Kelvin Lamb, CN retiree.

Rivers honours its railway history

Built along the CN main line, Rivers looks to honour its connection to the railway with the 
creation of a one-of-a-kind labyrinth in the shape of the front of a steam locomotive

A small Prairie town on a main rail line is defined by that presence. The town of Rivers is a good example of this, just a few miles northwest of Brandon, according to local residents who have banded together to commemorate their history as a railway centre. “We wouldn’t be here without the railway. Rivers

ice fishing

Province urges fishers to remove ice shacks from lakes, rivers in southern Manitoba

Warm weather is impacting ice conditions

Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship urges anyone with an ice shack on a lake or river in southern Manitoba to remove the structure as soon as possible, as long as ice conditions are safe to do so. Warm temperatures are causing ice conditions across much of southern Manitoba, from Lake of the Prairies to Dauphin


water flowing in a ditch

New drainage regulations in Saskatchewan ‘good first step’

Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency’s phased-in approach over 10 years will lead to more 
carefully planned drainage and reduced downstream impacts

A new approach to drainage regulation rolled out this month by Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency is being called a good first step, but rural leaders say they’re anxious to hear more details. Herb Cox, provincial official responsible for the WSA said September 1 new regulations are the first phase of an agricultural water management strategy

two women holding a plaque

Remembering the ol’ swimming hole in Carman

The local municipal heritage group in Carman has installed a commemorative sign where now only stairs and partial walkways remain of the former Boyne River Swimming Pool

The local pool will soon close as the end of summer nears and swimmers hang up their beach towels to return to school. There was a time when “the pool” never closed. It was the river. Rural Manitobans of a certain vintage will remember diving into their favourite swimming holes off riverbanks, but their children