The governments of Saskatchewan and North Dakota have pledged to work together to ensure a flood like the one that occurred in 2011 never happens again.
Premier Brad Wall and North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple and Senator John Hoeven held a joint press conference Friday in Regina where they discussed the preparations for the upcoming spring runoff of the Souris River. The sides are also looking at what changes need to be made to the international water agreement to prevent future catastrophes.
"We are both taking the steps that we need to take to avoid an incident the likes of which we saw last year and also to look to the future in terms of better water management and flood mitigation in the Souris River," said Wall.
"The flooding we saw in the Souris River in 2011 was an unprecedented event. Of all the water that has flown through the Souris River in the last century, 25 per cent of it flowed through last year."
Wall pointed out that an incredible volume of water led to the well-documented damage to areas of southeast Saskatchewan, particularly in Roche Percee, and also in Minot where thousands were evacuated and a number of homes damaged. He said they have taken the knowledge gathered during last year's floods and will put that to use if the area is hit with a series of major rain events as it was in June 2011.
"We are going to be prepared to limit the flooding," he said.
A review of the local dams is also underway, Wall announced at Friday's conference. A review of the Alameda Dam has been completed and the results were positive with respect to its structure and stability. It was also found that Alameda Dam has the capacity to hold more water than was initially believed. A similar review of the Rafferty Dam is expected to begin in the near future.
As for the agreement that governs the operation of the dams, Wall said agencies on both sides of the border are taking a look at the agreement and may look at updating it now that they have witnessed a one in 500 years flood.
"All of the agreements have been based on managing a snowpack related flood event," the premier said. "What we saw this spring was a snowpack that was very large and also a very significant rain event through June. So can we do better by that 1989 agreement? I think the short answer is yes."
Dalrymple said the governments have identified a handful of measures to improve and expand the operating plan. Notably they will include management strategies for the rainfall season.
"The operating plan is so oriented to snow runoff and has never really properly addressed what might, or could, happen in a rainfall season," he said. "That is a significant improvement that we can, and will, make."
Dalrymple added that although the operating plan might be somewhat constrictive, both sides agree that if another emergency develops, Canada and the U.S. have the latitude to do whatever they feel is necessary in terms of releases from the dams and water management.
Both Wall and Dalrymple agreed that any future efforts will also benefit from much better information sharing between North Dakota and Saskatchewan, something they admitted was a hindrance in 2011.
"It appears that we can get better rain gauge data delivered more promptly and more accurately to the United States in the event of a major rainfall event such as we had in June of 2011," Dalrymple said.
"That information would have been very useful in 2011, and we have identified a way that we can improve the availability and the speed with which that information comes forward."
Dalrymple also addressed the anger that some North Dakotans expressed over the operation of the dams during the floods. He said there is nothing that Saskatchewan officials could have done to prevent the floods from hammering Minot.
"The way the dams were managed was exactly according to plan and every decision that could have been made was made properly," Dalrymple said. "I don't think that most people in North Dakota ever felt that they were abused by anyone's poor decisions. Yes, you probably heard some remarks from some very frustrated people that suffered some tremendous damages and great personal losses. But the vast majority of people in Minot and state of North Dakota feel that Saskatchewan is our friend and our interests are aligned with theirs."
