Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Red River ice twice as thick this year

(from: ctvwinnipeg.ca)  Work is underway to break up ice on the Red River. Two Amphibex machines are out on the ice near Breezy Point, an area prone to jams.  The Red River, from Selkirk to Lake Winnipeg, is getting a lot of attention this year, after ice jams caused major problems last year. But Manitoba's Amphibex is better than ever, after the province spent $200 000 upgrading it. The machine is now equipped with better hydraulic capabilities and sonar radar, to help determine the ice thickness.

"The ice last year was 20 inches thick," Minister of Water Stewardship, Christine Melnick, told CTV News. "This year its 40 inches, so we're very pleased to have two machines in the province."

The second Amphibex is on lease for the season, but the province is moving ahead with plans to buy another more powerful Amphibex machine. It should arrive by next spring.  


4 comments:

  1. A lot of snow is gone already! It looks like there is about 10cm left in most places, or just enough to keep grass blades from showing.

    In the poll I voted for the First week of April to be when all the snow would be gone, but I have a feeling that the last week of March could be the right answer.

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  2. Hopefully this year the amphibex is able to do its job well enough to significantly drop the risk of ice jams this year.

    What about other areas on the Red River? Are the amphibex's only used in the Selkirk-Breezy Point area, or all over the Red River? What about other areas?

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  3. oops, i said the smae question twice in there. stupid me....lol

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  4. There calling for snow over the weekend and even more on Monday.

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