Producers operating in close proximity to the Assiniboine River from the Shellmouth Dam to St. Lazare are struggling to stay afloat
Decision makes room for forecasted runoff, water levels to rise from two to three feet
The Assiniboine River from the Shellmouth Dam to St. Lazare is expected to rise two to three feet the Manitoba government says
Red River peak expected to move from Emerson to Winnipeg in next ive to six days
But 'there be dragons' to tame for it to be a success
Government is promising an end to red tape for farmers looking to complete minor drainage works, while increasing fines for illegal drainage
Farmers downstream maintain that province’s “blame it on the rain” position doesn’t hold water
This year’s flooding of cropland along the Assiniboine River downstream from the Shellmouth Dam couldn’t have been prevented, according to the province. “The Assiniboine Valley producers are farming vulnerable, low-lying Assiniboine Valley lands. In the 2011 and 2012 flood years, the inundation of crops was a natural occurrence,” according to a new report by theDucks Unlimited expert says many farmers aren’t obtaining drainage permits because “it’s much easier to dig the ditch and then beg forgiveness later”
If farmers along the Assiniboine River are wondering where all that water came from this spring, Peter Onofreychuk believes he has a pretty good idea. On a giant aerial photo unrolled on his kitchen table, the farmer from MacNutt, Sask., shows where drainage ditches have been dug on land upstream from him by a 12,000-acre
