A compensation program for farmers in northwestern Manitoba whose land is flooded by operation of the Shellmouth Dam will be legislated under a bill introduced Wednesday.
The Shellmouth Dam and Other Water Control Works Management Act lays out the rules under which the dam will operate, and can be expanded to cover compensation relating to other water control structures that could be added later by regulation.
Operation of the Shellmouth Dam has resulted in “occasional incidents” of artificial flooding during its 37 years in operation, the province said. About $2.2 million in compensation was paid to landowners for such events in 2005 and 2006.
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The legislation is based on similar law that provides for compensation from the use of the Red River Floodway. When operated, that passage reroutes water from the Red River around, instead of through, Winnipeg during peak flows, to protect the city from floods.
The Shellmouth Dam was completed in 1970 at the point where the Assiniboine and Shell rivers meet, about 19 km northwest of Russell, Man. The dam, built for flood protection and water supply for the area, created a 56-km-long reservoir, called Lake of the Prairies — which itself plays a significant role in the local economy, provincial Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick said.
Due to the “complexity and wide-reaching consequences of the Shellmouth Dam operation,” it has been difficult in the past to reach consensus among nearby landowners on its operations, Meknick said. The new legislation will clarify for landowners when the dam (or other waterworks to be named later) will operate.
The act, when passed, will also allow the minister to set up advisory committees to provide guidance on the operation of these structures.
Compensation issued through this legislation will be based on damage caused only by artificial flooding, and on the types of crops that would have been seeded on the farmland flooded as a result, she said.
2007 compensation
The provincial government on Thursday announced it will extend its flood assistance program to compensate Assiniboine Valley farmers for losses due to “excessive flooding” of their farmland in 2007
“By extending the financial assistance we launched last year, we can again provide important and timely support to producers who suffered flood losses in 2007 as a result of the operation of the Shellmouth reservoir and unpredictable weather conditions beyond those covered by other agriculture insurance packages,” Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk said in a release Thursday.
Last year the province paid $1.27 million in assistance to 102 farmers who claimed a loss in 2005 and to 101 farmers who claimed a loss in 2006.
The 2007 payments will again be managed through the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. and will complement production insurance and excess-moisture insurance payments.
