City of Brandon Remains Vigilant as Assiniboine River Nears Crest


April 10, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

*Updated April 10th at 5:15 p.m.

As of late this afternoon, the Assiniboine River was measured at First Street at 1,179.1 feet above sea level. This is down slightly from this morning’s measurement of 1,179.24 feet above sea level and would seem to confirm the assessment from Manitoba Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre that the river is cresting in Brandon today. City of Brandon crews will continue with 24/7 monitoring of outfalls and pumps along the river corridor in the coming days to ensure no issues arise.

 

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Emergency Response Team continues to monitor Assiniboine River levels in Brandon as the anticipated river crest arrives today. Manitoba Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre has indicated that peak river flows have arrived in Brandon today. As of this morning, the Assiniboine River was sitting at 1,179.24 feet above sea level, measured at First Street.

City of Brandon crews continue to monitor outfalls and pumps along the river corridor on a 24-hour schedule to address any water seepage or pooling that may occur. The clay plug placed at the intersection of Grand Valley Road at 18th Street North is holding well. Manitoba Infrastructure has informed the City of Brandon that seepage being experienced at the site of the aqua dams placed on First Street North is being monitored by provincial staff, but there is no intention to close the road to traffic at this time.

The City of Brandon does not require any volunteer assistance from the public at this time, but thanks all those who offered help to sandbag a residential property in the East End this weekend.

There is no intention by the City of Brandon to evacuate any residential or commercial areas of the river corridor at this time. However, public safety remains the City’s primary concern and should it become necessary, clear direction will be given to all impacted individuals and the public at-large.

At this time, the City of Brandon would like to stress that the public should NOT be accessing any portion of the City’s dike system by foot, bicycle or otherwise. Specifically, the recently built-up embankment at the Wheat City Golf Course has not been water-tested to this level before and its stability remains unknown. Management and staff at the Wheat City Golf Course ask all members of the public to respect all signage and barricades placed in the course's parking lot until the peak has passed.

All public access into Dinsdale Park and Queen Elizabeth Park (including the Queen Elizabeth Park entrance at 26th Street North) is STRICTLY PROHIBITED until further notice. Barricades are up in these areas and are being monitored to ensure public adherence.

Morning and afternoon river level readings continue to be taken at First Street and will be published on the City of Brandon’s website here: http://intriverlevel.brandon.ca/.