Red River at Morris

The Red River continues to crest at locations north of the Canada-U.S. border. Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler says the crest has arrived in southern Manitoba at its lower predicted range.

“This is good news as the substantial run-off we’re seeing throughout the Red River Basin will remain at the lower end of the forecast, with levels similar to those we saw in 2006 at Emerson and Letellier and levels closer to 2019 north from St. Jean Baptiste,” says Schuler. “We always prepare for the worst but hope for the best, and so far the weather has co-operated. Cooler temperatures have slowed the melt and helped control high water in Manitoba, and we aren’t expecting any major spring storms in the week ahead.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Red River has crested from Emerson to St. Jean.

  • At Emerson, it crested on Saturday at 788.94 feet.
  • At Letellier it crested on Sunday at 783.9 feet.
  • At St. Jean it crested on Monday at 779.0 feet.

A flood warning remains in place for the river from Emerson to the Red River Floodway inlet.

  • The Red River is expected to peak at Morris on Tuesday between 775.1 and 775.4 feet.
  • It is expected to peak at Ste. Agathe on Tuesday between 766.6 and 766.9 feet.
  • It is expected to peak at St. Adolphe on Tuesday between 762.5 and 763.0 feet.

Highway 75 at Morris is expected to remain open, as an earthen ramp has been constructed at the north end of Morris so traffic can continue to use the highway. 

Provincial crews were deployed in a number of communities in the Red River Valley to close ring dikes as required. Pumping operations are underway at most ring dike communities. Response teams are observing recommended public health measures for COVID-19.

Operation of the floodway continues to reduce water levels in Winnipeg. The Red River level is around 18.7 feet at James Avenue with the crest forecast to arrive within the next two days at between 19 and 19.3 feet, maintained by floodway operation. The current flow in the floodway channel is almost 20,000 cubic feet per second.

The Red River is now projected to return within bank in early May. The Red River Floodway will likely continue operations until mid-May depending on future weather conditions.

The minister noted that levels are reducing along the Red River in North Dakota, currently at 18.2 feet. in Fargo and 35.6 feet. in Grand Forks. At this time, there is sufficient capacity in the channel to withstand a major storm.

A number of roads are impacted by high water levels including parts of Provincial Road (PR) 217, PR 246 and PR 320. For detours and a complete list of closures, visit www.manitoba511.ca.

The Hydrologic Forecast Centre provides daily high water reports at:
www.gov.mb.ca/mit/floodinfo/index.html.