The Lake Winnipeg dykes

For the last several weeks emails and calls have been coming in furiously with concerns about the Lake Winnipeg dykes. What I am hearing is that what was needed was an approach which would have provided better erosion control, coupled with a much more "site-specific" approach that recognized the differences from one area to the next of the lake. The approach taken by Water Stewardship appears to have been designed similar to what is needed along the Red River to protect from flooding. On Lake Winnipeg, I am told by those who have been there for decades, with the wave action being such an important contributor, the need is significantly different.

I will provide you a few comments from emails and letters I have received:
1) "Water Stewardship have spent 8 million dollars on an essentially useless exercise and will undoubtedly be trying to spend plenty more to give some of the people only what they were asking for in the first place."
2) "The earthen dyke that was constructed in September of 2005 did not last for a month. The clay and mud that has washed into the yard will not wash away and disappear on its own. The dikes appear to hold well - as long as they don't get wet."
3) "Now we are left with tons, literally, of filthy debris that has proven itself to be of no help during a minimal rain storm, that is an eyesore, that reduced the amount of usable property, that may actually be destructive to the existing wall."
4) The project was more "political than practical"
5) "I have yet to find a cottage owner who has had a dyke installed that is happy."
6) "Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton is saying things about the dyke/sandbag project that are not supported by the available facts. What he fails to say is that the dykes are not connected. They are dissolving with each rainfall and... I for one recognize these efforts in the Lake Winnipeg area for what they are - incompetent, inconsistent and wasteful."

Now, I need to add several points. I have talked to cottage owners or home owners who are pleased the dyke was installed, so the above points of view are not universal. I have the impression that in certain areas the dykes may have been of some help. But, clearly, there have been some real problems in the way the Gary Doer government approached this situation and built the dykes. I would welcome your comments. You can reach me at jgerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca

Those who are interested can also see my earlier blog notes on these dykes on Sept 25 and Sept 28. I also have the impression that one of the reasons many cottage owners and home owners are upset is that the dyke building involved quite a bit of destruction of personal property - decks, gardens, trees, hedges - some of which (like caragana hedges) was specifically planted because the deep roots of this shrub help to stabilize the banks and control erosion.