History of flooding in Manitoba!

• Their have been regular flooding in Manitoba since the 1800’s.

• The of the more recent floods was in 1997 which started in April and went into May.

• In 1997 you received an Easter gift of flooding!!!• There is definitely a long history of flooding in our

province but a lot of times that we haven’t listed they have happened but not as bad and not as noticed as other times.

Map of the Red River and the central portion of the Red River Valley, Manitoba, depicting the limits of the 1997 flood and places and features mentioned in the text.

What can contribute to spring flooding?

There are five major things that contribute to spring flooding. They are :

• Wet ground conditions in the fall. Because of this the ground can’t hold any more water in the spring.

• Ice Jams block the drainages and culverts• Lots of lowland in Manitoba because there used to be a

huge lake called Lake Agassiz here.• High snowfalls during the winter makes there be more

snow water in spring.• Cold temperatures make the ground frozen and it wont be

able to absorb as much water in spring.

What are dangers of flooding in the ecosystem?

• There are more positive effects• Some negative effects are that floods could damage

buildings that contain poisonous things like paints or pesticides and these things could spill into the water or the rest of the environment.

• One positive effect is that if it floods regularly the ground level will always stay about the same above sea level, if it does not flood regularly no more new sediment is added to the ground it will start wearing away and the ground level sinks.

What ways can we help prevent flooding?

• There are many ways for us to help prevent flooding. Some of the ways are more simple then others.

• The first way is to stop throwing garbage in places where the garbage could get clogged and stop the water from draining creating an even bigger flood then their would have been in the first place.

• Another way is to of course be able to control the weather! HA! I wish!• A more reasonable way is to plant a garden because all the soil that is

filled with plants and seed that need water will absorb lots of the access water. Not all but a lot of the water too. It could also be helpful to live in an area that is higher up and farther away from the river to reduce the chance of water reaching your house.

• One last helpful thing is to help sand bagging before the flooding starts.

Lake Agassiz covered almost all of Manitoba ,parts of Ontario, North Dakota, Minnesota and Saskatchewan.