The reeve for Emerson-Franklin says it’s hard to believe we’re preparing for spring flooding after the drought we experienced just last year.

Dave Carlson is paying close attention to the forecast and trying to plan accordingly.

“So right now, like in the valley, we're looking at flood levels of 2011 in the worst case, if conditions aren't good,” he says. “So, we know what that looks like, and we'll be as ready for that as we can. So that'll involve making sandbags and things like that and making sure that we have our pumps ready should they be needed. And making sure did ditches and drains are as clean as they can be and kind of reacting to the weather and hoping that everything goes well.”

Frequent winter storms dumped a lot of snow in the region and Carlson says the recent weather allowed for a slow and steady melt, which was ideal. 

The Roseau River nearly dried up during the drought of 2021. (Photo submitted)

“The last thing we want is a real quick thaw and then that water runoff because it won't go in the ground because there's still frost in the ground. So we would face a lot of overland flooding and some real issues.”

While Carlson was really hoping to avoid precipitation for a while, a weather system is moving into southern Manitoba with a mix of rain and snow, with potentially significant amounts, for the Red River Valley eastward to the Ontario border.

Looking back at the drought last year, Carlson says it was hard watching the rivers dry up. Over the years, the Roseau River has become a popular place for people to spend summer days floating down the river. But last year, that couldn’t happen.

“It was very concerning actually, in the Dominion City area, it just kind of stopped flowing,” he recalls. “I had never really seen that before. So, it was a little scary.”

The hot weather and lack of rain put a lot of stress on farmers, he adds.

“I know a lot of the farmers were suffering, with dugouts being drained right dry, as well as wells. So, a lot of challenges with that.”

Carlson notes water levels for the Roseau River did come up a bit, thanks to some rain during the fall.

“And now with this heavier snowpack, we're hoping that the river will recharge up to a decent level and that they'll have kind of a normal spring and a normal year ahead because it was pretty dry.”

When he recalls the hardships experienced last summer, Carlson says he often believes that he would much sooner deal with flooding instead of drought because it was so difficult to see the serious challenges that everyone faced, especially farmers.

“It was a lot of hardships, a lot of guys were wondering how they're going to water the cattle and, you know, so there was a lot of water hauling going on,” he says. “We’re fortunate, we do have community wells with an aquifer, so it wasn't quite as bad, but it was really, really dry. We had some timely rains in the flats we call it, kind of in the valley. So, the crops came off better than expected. Not quite where they should have been, but some stuff, the higher prices kind of made up for it, but it was really challenging with a lot of water hauling.”

The drought impacted everyone in some capacity.

There were water restrictions for Dominion City and Emerson on the Pembina Valley Water Co-op line.

During the drought last summer, the Red River nearly stopped flowing. (Photo submitted)As spring flooding approaches and most people are searching for ways to move water off their land, Carlson urges people to consider working on water retention projects. He believes drainage is not necessarily the best approach, especially after the extreme drought we went through last year.

He says it was scary to see the rivers nearly stop flowing, and how everyone had to reduce water consumption.

“It was touch and go there for a while,” Carlson adds.

“We had a lot of meetings about the drought. And we want to make sure it doesn't happen again because it's not good for our communities. It's not good for business or potential future business. So, we want to put in different upgrades and come up with other strategies to make sure that the water will keep flowing even in those kinds of extreme conditions.”

With a lot of water to work with this spring, the pressure is on to retain as much water as possible, making sure it is not wasted.

As planning continues to handle melting snow and protect residents from flooding, Carlson expresses gratitude for the many people who continuously go the extra mile to ensure safety for everyone.

“Our public works department has been fantastic in these last couple of months. It's been very, very challenging and if we are moving into a flood situation, they'll be working doubly hard because we could get some road washouts and things like that and having to help our citizens if they get into any kind of difficulties. So, between them and our fire departments, we’ll be out there doing what we can do to make sure that everyone is safe and trying to mitigate as much as we can with any potential flooding that we're going to be seeing. My hats off to all of them and their dedication and their work for the people here.”