The Reeve for the RM of Morris says he was not surprised by the provincial flood outlook that was issued last week.

Ralph Groening says there's a lot of snow up and down the Red River basin that's going to eventually turn into water, and communities are going to have to prepare.

Provincial flood forecasters say there's a high risk of major flooding on the Red River this spring, possibly near 2011 levels under normal weather conditions.

"We pulled out our 2011 file and we're going to follow some of the procedures that we used at that time to identify some of the concerns," said Groening. "We will also hold public meetings together with the town of Morris as we did in 2011 and we'll have a public meeting in Rosenort where we will share our thoughts and provide some information moving forward."

In the event the Red River Valley experiences unfavourable weather conditions this spring, including late-season snow, spring rains, and a more rapid snowmelt, the flood threat would increase to a 2009 flood scenario.

"2011 is a minor flood event, in a sense, because it wouldn't require any community evacuations. There would be some road closures and some residents might choose to leave their homes because of road access issues, but it's not a major event. The 2009 flood was more significant. The community of Riverside did evacuate that year, so that would require an additional level of preparedness."

Groening remains optimistic that, under the right weather conditions which would include a very slow freeze-thaw cycle combined with no significant precipitation, the Red River Valley might be able to avoid a 2011 flood situation altogether.