The RM of Portage la Prairie is joining other municipalities in a call for improved flood protection along Lake Manitoba. They passed a resolution this morning, supporting a call for the province to automatically install geotubes or similar protections when properties along the lake are threatened by waves when the lake is high. Reeve Kam Blight says it wasn't a hard resolution to support, given the current process for having geotubes installed.

"It's just suggesting that if the conditions are such that the lake is at 812.5 (feet above sea level), which the province considers flood level and up, and the Portage Diversion and what not is being used, the province would automatically put geotubes in place without us having to fight and demand. It would just be an automatic reaction to put those protections in place. It was a no-brainer for us to support this resolution."

Blight says lake levels are on the lower end of the spectrum this summer, but they're not forgetting what was seen in the past. He notes high wind speeds when the lake is high can have devastating effects on the properties around the lake. Blight says while several municipalities around the lake are supporting the resolution, they still need the province to agree to the change.

"I know they're all reasonable people and they're definitely going to give it some serious consideration. I'm sure they'll also have a visit from a few of us to help lobby for it."

Portage is one of the RMs along the lake that had geotubes installed in 2011 and 2014 to protect the shores. While some municipal governments have decided to remove the geotubes due to the lower lake levels, the RM of Portage has decided to keep them in place, but use strategic cuts to allow water to flow but still be put back in place if the lake were to rise again.