Brandon flood protections solid as water recedes, officials say

BRANDON — Officials said water levels on the Assiniboine River continued to recede and flooding infrastructure held up Wednesday despite rainy weather in Brandon.

“The flood forecast hasn’t changed. The amount of rain that we did receive — we’ve been advised that the levels or flows will not be impacted,” emergency co-ordinator Tobin Praznik said.

The river level had dipped to 1,178.67 feet above sea level at 11:45 a.m., compared to the 1,179.49-foot crest on Monday morning.

“The flood protection system is in place and it’s doing what’s expected of it,” Praznik said.

He said the rainfall means that crews need to monitor levels inside the area diked off from the Assiniboine River, and they have pumps ready if required.

“If accumulations do start increasing, we’ll take the necessary actions to make sure we’re staying up on top of anything within our dike system.”

The continuing drop in water levels, Praznik said, is exactly what projections were indicating, though crews are still in “response mode.”

“We will start transitioning to what recovery is going to look like and those early discussions have started. But again, very early in our phase right now,” he said.

While residents in flood-prone parts of the city remain on evacuation notice, no one has been forced to leave their home and no major infrastructure has been damaged.

“It’s a good sign that things have stabilized. So we’re just working through the process and letting Mother Nature take her course,” Praznik added.

The city reminded people to stay away from the river and flood-related infrastructure.

— Brandon Sun