The final report of International Red River Basin Task Force, The Next Flood: Getting Prepared , released today, examines how to reduce the damages from floods of the magnitude of the disastrous Red River flood of 1997, or even larger floods, when they occur in the future.

The Task Force finds that there are no quick fixes to prevent large floods. It makes 521 recommendations to reduce the risk from flooding and to make the communities more resilient in the event of large floods. The Task Force examined many of the concerns raised by the public and experts about the flooding in the basin as well as the preparation needed to avoid or reduce damages from large floods in the future.

After the Red River flood of 1997, the governments of Canada and the United States asked the International Joint Commission (IJC) to investigate the causes and effects of the flooding and to recommend ways to reduce the impact of major floods.

In December 1997, the Commission presented a report to the governments, in which it endorsed the interim report prepared by the IJC’s International Red River Basin Task Force, Red River Flooding: Short-Term Measures . The report made 40 recommendations which, for the most part, have been adopted .

In its final report, the Task Force considers whether storage offers a remedy to large Red River floods – reservoirs, micro or waffle storage, or wetlands. The Task Force concluded that storage options are not realistic for dealing with very large floods. There is insufficient new storage potential or water control capability to hold back the large volume of water needed to make a substantial difference to the peak water levels from very large floods. New storage may does reduce floods on tributaries and increases in wetlands may have other environmental benefits, but the Task Force did not examine these benefits because such storage does not prevent large scale basin-wide flooding.

Since storage options provide only modest reductions in peak water levels for major floods, flood preparedness must include a mix of structural and non-structural options. The cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks are building dikes and undertaking urban renewal projects. There are numerous initiatives on both sides of the border to reduce the flood risk in other valley communities.

Winnipeg, the largest urban area within the basin, remains at risk. The city survived the flood relatively unscathed, but fair weather during late April 1997 helped it escape the fate of its southern neighbors. The Task Force recommends measures to reduce the city’s vulnerabilities and better prepare it for large floods. For a start, the city needs to prepare for at least the largest recorded flood, the flood of 1826.

To achieve the level of protection sufficient to defend against the 1826 or larger floods, major structural measures on a scale equal to the original Red River Floodway project are needed. . Two options are suggested: expansion of the Floodway or construction of a water detention structure south of Ste. Agathe to control flood waters for floods larger than 1997. Both options require detailed feasibility studies and public discussion, as well as federal-provincial-city agreement on how to finance the increased protection for the Winnipeg.

Structural protection measures are only part of the response to living with major floods. The Task Force looked at a wide range of floodplain management issues to mitigate the effects of major floods and to make communities more resilient. The Task Force finds that in the Canadian portion of the basin there is a need for a mitigation program to reduce the risks and impacts from future large floods. In the United States portion of the basin, flood insurance is an integral to flood preparedness yet the program attracts far too few people properties at risk.

An issue that arose during the 1997 flood and which has troubled transboundary relations is flooding in the lower Pembina River basin. There is general recognition in the region that construction of dikes and of roads that act as dikes on both sides of the boundary have aggravated flooding in some areas. There appears to be a general readiness to rectify the transboundary flooding consequences of these structures. The Commission strongly supports this initiative and has committed funds and lent the expertise of the Task Force to aid in coming to a common understanding of the technical issues. In addition, tThe Task Force undertook a number of technical initiatives to provide a better understanding of the problems.

Another flood issue that arose in 1997 concerned breakout flows on the Little Minnesota River in the Mississippi basin near Browns Valley, Minnesota to Lake Traverse in the Red River basin. These high-flow conditions occasionally provide a hydraulic connection between the Mississippi and the Hudson Bay drainage systems and open the way for the migration of exotic aquatic species between watersheds. Governments need to cooperate and monitor the potential inter-basin connection and act to prevent it from happening

In an effort to better understand flooding issues and in recognition of weaknesses in technological infrastructure within the basin, the Task Force devoted much of its energy and resources to data issues and computer modeling. On reviewing current data availability, the Task Force concluded that further improvement and maintenance of the Red River floodplain management database is required. Federal, state and provincial governments and local authorities must maintain a high level of involvement in further database development and in improving data accessibility. Data access in Canada is particularly problematic.

In partnership with the U.S. Global Disaster Information Network, the Task Force established the basis for a virtual database and a decision- support system. It will take some time and a commitment from basin governments to complete this promising initiative.

The virtual database, computer models, and decision support system will remain as a legacy to aid flood fighters and planners with the latest computer models and information base for effective planning and real-time decision making during flood crises

Many people in the basin are interested in the institutions that should be involved in water issues. The Task Force recommends a basin institution with a mandate to advocate and report on flood-related issues. These issues include the progress of governments in implementing the recommendations in the final report and in maintaining and advancing the work of the Task Force’s legacy projects.