The province's ice-cutting machines began work Wednesday in Manitoba to prepare for earlier-than-normal river crests.
The machines are slated to cut ice from Netley Creek, near Breezy Point, to the city of Selkirk, covering about 26 kilometres of ice.
Work on cutting the ice is beginning earlier than normal.
The province has been examining water-level records dating back to the 1960s.
Officials with the province's water stewardship department said the crests on the Red River appear to be arriving about three weeks earlier in Manitoba.
"So, the implication to Manitoba is that the American runoff is coming earlier. It's meeting up on the Red River north…with the solid ice cover," said Steve Topping from water stewardship.
Predictions for when the Red River will crest in Manitoba in the spring have not yet been released.
The earlier recent river crests, however, mean that water from the south is meeting thick ice in Manitoba, which hasn't had time to melt. That leads to more ice jams, said officials.
The cause of the earlier crests is being attributed to a couple of factors.
Topping said that since 1995, the area has been in a wet cycle.
Secondly, another aspect may be having an impact.
"You have to question is climate change one of the factors here?" asked Topping.
The ice-cutting measures will help clear the way for the Amphibex machines to more easily break the ice apart, to help counter spring flooding, said provincial officials.
Currently, there's about a 10 per cent chance of water hitting 1997 levels, said Topping.
Weather over the next few weeks will affect the river levels in the spring melt.
The province is scheduled to release another flood outlook later in February.
- with a report from CTV's Jon Hendricks
- to check out images of the ice-cutting machines at work, please go to the following link: photo gallery
