Amphibex machines breaking up ice on Red River

The Manitoba government is gearing up for spring and the annual flood season by breaking up ice on the Red River north of Winnipeg today.

The province's fourAmphibex machines began crawling along the river near Breezy Point on Tuesday morning, breaking up ice that wascut by ice-cutters in the pastweek.

Each of the 22-tonne machines are breaking upice in parts of the river that have a history of ice jamming, according to the provincial government.

The machines are working south towards Winnipeg, breaking up ice and opening channels in an effort to prevent spring ice jams.

Weve seen the damage ice-jam-related flooding can have for communities; its unpredictable and can develop rapidly, Premier Greg Selinger stated in a news release.

Working around the clock, our icebreaking fleet and the 28 dedicated people who operate the equipment are recognized across the continent for the incredible success they have protecting families and businesses.

The ice thickness on the Red has been normal this season, according to local officials, adding that snow has prevented the ice from getting unusually thick in the cold weather.

At the same time, the extra snow has made it somewhat difficult for ice-cutting machines to score the ice.

Amphibex machines have been used in Manitoba since 2006. The current fleet can crush more than 25 kilometres of river ice a year, according to the province.

Too early for flood forecast

Provincial officials said its still too early to tell, but all indications point to flood conditions lower than 2011 and 2013 levels for the upcoming year.

We have to see if theres additional snow in March and April, said Selinger. We have to see how quickly the melt will occur, but we do know a lot of the soil conditions were quite dry last fall thats a positive indication.

But St. Andrews Mayor Don Forfar said their community is concerned about the high amount of snow.

The snow is doing two things. Its impeding how deep we can cut, and secondly, its slowing down the equipment, and in some cases, weve had equipment damage, said Forfar.

Still, he said, the community is in good shape for the start of flood prevention season.

New chief flood forecaster hired

Manitoba has been without a chief flood forecaster since Phillip Mutulu resigned in August, but Selinger saida new forecaster will be announced next week.

Our new chief forecaster joins a team that is one of the most experienced flood-forecasting units in the country and likely the continent. They have unique shared experience of working during the largest, longest flood in Manitobas history, Selinger said.

There are currently 12 dedicated professionals who work at the forecast centre year-round including three senior forecasters and an executive director with more than 60 years of combined experience.

The Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation Hydrologic Forecast Centre says it believes the flood potential is "significantly below that of 2011 and 2013" based on current river basin conditions.

Officials also say soil moisture conditions at the time of freeze-up were below normal on the Red River in Manitoba, mainly below normal on the QuAppelle River, below normal to normal on the Saskatchewan River, and near-normal to above-normal on the Assiniboine and Souris rivers.