With the the bitter cold of winter upon us, not too many people in the Red River Valley are thinking about spring flooding, but the potential is there.

Total snowfall amounts vary from 75 to 120 centimetres throughout the region, which is about the average for a full winter season.

Ralph Groening, admits the potential for spring flooding is there, but it's too early to say how events will unfold at this early point in the season.

"I don't sense a lot of angst over the situation, and in fact, most of the people I've talked to are waiting for the Manitoba government's first flood forecast, which will begin to generate more public discussion," said Groening.

The province will likely release its first flood forecast at the end of January or early February in conjunction with the flood forecast issued by the National Weather Service in North Dakota.

Groening and most of his councillors have decades of flood fighting experience, that reaches back to the mid 1990s and even beyond and includes the 1997 Flood of the Century.

"Fortunately most of us on council and our public works people have a good knowledge of where the potential problem areas are and the homes that are most likely to be impacted by a high water event. We also know how we have responded in the past and how we would respond now should flooding occur."