The RM of Grahamdale could be dealing with a very bad flood situation come spring.

"Lake Manitoba has been coming up ever since the early fall when we had all those heavy rains," says Reeve Clifford Halaburda. "The control structure at Fairford has been operating at full capacity. Downstream just can't take the volume of water, and this part of the water stream -- Pinemuta Lake -- has risen and is backed up, and it's coming into the old town of St. Martin's creeks, and they're filling up. What we're worried about come spring during the big thaw is that we can have big problems with the drains and culverts will still be frozen up."

Halaburda says it will come to a point where it is going to be flooding in their area. "One of our main creeks is backed up and the ice is right up to the bottom of the bridge," remarks Halaburda. "It's really developing into a problem as we see it in the municipality from the Lake St. Martin system."

"Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT) has two choices, lower the lake level by slowing down the outflow at the Fairford control structure, or open the manmade control structure at each end of Lake St. Martin and let the water go down the existing channel. It's not our call to make, it's up to the water people who are responsible for it."

He adds they don't know what nature will give them from now until the end of April but they want to be prepared, and they want some protection for the area.