Manitoba begins flood resilience upgrades on Rivers Dam

Rehabilitation work has begun to upgrade a dam in Manitoba’s Rivers Provincial Park to make it more resilience to future flood events.

Manitoba’s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk announced the start of construction in July, which will cost around $40 million and include work to the dam’s low flow conduit, concrete spillway and embankment.

In summer 2020, record flooding on the Little Saskatchewan River led to evacuations in the Rivers Dam flood zone area. The dam controls water levels on Lake Wahtopanah in Rivers Provincial Park.

All upgrades are expected to be complete in the fall of 2025. Piwniuk noted the rehabilitated dam will be capable of withstanding a one in a 1,000-year flood event.