River Erosion and Building

In 1998 Winnipeg suffered from a serious flood that left many homes waterlogged and many people from smaller towns in fear that they would lose their homes.  The Red River flood affected areas of Minnesota and North Dakota also, and a number of areas leading up into Winnipeg.  In Winnipeg they were forewarned about the flood and thus had time to prepare for it.  Volunteers were called upon to fill sandbags to line against the river properties to protect them from the water.  I remember this specifically because i recall my mother telling me about my cousin, whose Boy Scout’s group was called in to help. 

A city near a large waterway such as the Red River has to expect that something like this could happen.  There is always the risk for those living along the river that this could affect them and their homes.  So the question is then raised…what is one to do to prevent the erosion of the river in these areas? 

River flooding is a huge issue, but erosion is an equally large issue, and one that is not as easily detected until it’s too late.  Properties built along the river run the risk of the ground they are built on slowly washing away underneath, until that part of the bed breaks off completely. 

So how does a city go about building with this issue?  There is no harm in building along the river if the risk is known, especially since the buildings that go up along the river, if they are in danger, are mostly homes that people circulate out of over the years anyways.  The larger danger would be to build government buildings or apartment buildings along these areas, which are much, much greater in mass and human traffic. 

Being from Regina, I can’t help but think of Wascana Lake, the manmade lake in the center of the city that provides a backdrop for the Legislative buildings and Memorial Bridge.  Even though the flow of water does not even compare to that of the Red River, It is interesting to see how the buildings are laid out around it.  The legislative buildings are set far back and their gardens extend to the lake.  The homes that do line the bridge on the other side of Memorial Bridge are also set back, a winding park-like path and greenspace encompassing the space between the houses and the creek.  The remaining portion of the water edges are  taken up by Wascana Park, a huge central city park.  This is a good setup for waterfront building, and it is something that Winnipeg could think about for future waterfront development.

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