The RM of Portage won't be following in St. Laurent's footsteps, when it comes to the removal of temporary flood mitigation infrastructure related to the 2014 flood. While St. Laurent's Council approved the removal of super sandbags and Geotextile Tubes along Lake Manitoba, Portage's council has decided to keep their Geotextile Tubes in place at Delta. Reeve Kam Blight notes while some residents have requested the Geotextile Tubes be removed, further consultation led to their decision to keep them in place. 

Kam Blight

"There have been some requests come forward about removing the Geotextile Tubes at Delta. Council has discussed with a lot of different individuals and organizations about the best direction to take in that matter. We've talked to the installers, the province, Delta Beach Association, and some residents that live out there. At this time Council's decided not to remove the Geotextile Tubes."

Blight says the current lake level, combined with concerns over leaving the area unprotected were the two main reasons behind the decision to keep the infrastructure in place.

"We feel we're not that far removed from the last major event or disaster. The lake level is still on the higher side, while it is in the operational range it's on the higher side. We feel our Council worked very hard to work with the province and get them to approve the installation of them right now, and we're concerned about what might happen if we just go ahead and remove them and ran into a situation where we needed some sort of protection there again."

He notes while they've decided to keep the Geotextile Tubes in place, Council is investigating options to make the area more accessible.