Winnipeg offers new dike option for flood-prone properties

Homeowners of flood-prone properties in Winnipeg will once again be offered a more permanent option to protect their homes from the Red River— and save taxpayers money.

The plan calls for permanent dikes to be built on 17 properties along the Red River.Currently, the city helps build sandbag dikes on the properties almost every year.

Some of the properties are on Scotia Street, which follows a low-lying curve of the river in Winnipeg's north end, while others are south of the Perimeter Highway in the St. Norbert area.

Each of the properties has required sandbag dikes in three of the past five years, even when the Red River wasn't threatening other areas of the city.

The city pays for those sandbags— but a new report says it would cost less to build permanent dikes thanto filland haul the sandbags.

The proposed dike wouldn't be high enough to protect the properties from very high water, but St. Norbert Coun. Justin Swandel said the plan would deal with what he called "nuisance flooding."

"The cost of protecting them every year, the way we are, is costing more money than to go in once and do a flood protection that was lower than the 1997 levels, because that's our constant cost," he said.

"If you can get the stuff that happens on an almost annual basis dealt with, you've certainly gone a long way to eliminating a burden on the taxpayers."

Homeowners rejected earlier dike proposal

City flood engineer Grant Mohr says the city could save more than $1.3 million over 10 years by building the permanent dikes.

However, he admits convincing the 17 homeowners to agree to the dikes could be an issue. They all rejected permanent dikes after 1997's "flood of the century," some because of cost, others because they didn't want their view of the river affected.

Mohr said the new dikes should be more appealing because they will be 1.5 metres lower than the previous dike proposals.

"I'm hoping that with the recent flood events, that people will be a little bit more receptive to raising their level of flood protection," he said.

"But there's obviously going to be properties that want to stay with the status quo, and we will continue to provide those people with sandbags."

If residents accept the city's offer, the permanent dikes could be built over the next two years.