Comment On EIS Process For The Lake Manitoba Lake St. Martin Channels

   I am a stakeholder on Lake Manitoba at Twin Lakes Beach. We maintain a secondary residence here and my wife’s family has owned this property since 1968, my wife and I currently own it. In the spring of 2011 the Province of Manitoba flooded us out by their use of the Portage Diversion. We lost everything on the property, the buildings, the well and holding tanks and almost all of the vegetation. We have been slowly rebuilding over the last 13 years as our finances allow.

   The province built the Portage Diversion to alleviate flooding downriver of Portage La Prairie, Winnipeg primarily. The original design called for an inlet into the lake but also an outlet which has never been built. Over the course of the Diversion’s lifetime the Province has used the Diversion more and more and for longer periods of time, sometimes in the summer so that the river walkways in Winnipeg are not under water. I don’t think that this was in the original design application. This use caused Lake Manitoba to be maintained at the top end of it’s operating range for years causing increased erosion on the shoreline. As a result of this, we had no natural shoreline protection during the flood of 2011.

   During the flood, the province shored up the Portage Diversion which also increase it’s flow capacity by about 40% with no environmental licence. It has since made these measures permanent again without an environmental licence. The province maintains that they are within the guidelines as they only operate to the increased capacity under a State of Emergency which throws the operating guidelines out the window.

   As part of the province’s flood protection system. There is a dike system South of Portage La Prairie on the Assiniboine River. These dikes have been neglected for so long that the province has to limit the amount of flow in the river. The province has also allowed much residential development along the river that also limits the amount of flow. This neglect has caused the province to use the Diversion more frequently than originally designed for.

   As a result of this neglect and the lack of an outlet, this flood will happen again. We don’t know when, but it will and everything will be devastated again. The amount of environmental damage as a result of the flood of 2011 is immense. There was no wildlife in the area during the flood and for a year after, the silence was truly disturbing. The area was underwater for months before the water receded. The vegetation has yet to grow back so there is no root system to help hold the sand and gravel from erosion.

   It is disheartening to hear different groups proclaiming that they will never allow the channels to be built, especially the ones that were so negatively impacted by the 2011 flood. There are supposed to be consultations but when minds are already made up it is unlikely they will be swayed to the other side.

   Speaking of the other side, all the EIS is doing is setting us up for an “US VS THEM” scenario. Those that want the channels built and those that don’t. I see that there have already been formal consultations done for certain groups that are against the building of the channels but where is the formal invitations for those that want the channels built? Again, “US VS THEM”.

   In summary, just build the channels, it is only a matter of time before we flood again.

   Thank you,

Robert Dent