'Unacceptable': Removal of beaver dam in Manitoba community sends surge downstream

The removal of a beaver dam in a rural Manitoba community is having some unintended consequences, sending a small flood downstream, catching residents off-guard.

Todd Davies has lived on Medicine Creek in the R.M. of St. Andrews for the past 12 years. But on Monday, he saw something he’d never seen before.

While out walking his dogs along the frozen creek, Davies said a gush of water started flowing towards him.

“That took me by surprise,” Davies told CTV News. "I was not sure what had happened.”

What had happened was upstream, municipal crews had cut out a section of a beaver dam.

“We experience numerous concerns with beavers and beaver dams every year,” said St. Andrews CAO Brent Olynyk. He said this beaver dam prompted complaints in the fall and had to be removed to prevent flooding in the spring.

“We were not able to get in there in the fall; it was too wet to get in there, and we proceeded to open up the beaver dam this week.”

But Davies said this had unintended consequences, sending a small surge of water and debris downstream. He said this forced folks scrambling to pull hockey nets and ice fishing shacks off the creek. He says he even had to rescue a dog who fell through the ice.

“I don't think they realize the volume of water they let go on the other side of that dam,” Davies said, adding no notice was given to residents before the dam was breached.

“To release that volume of water without public notice is, in my mind, unacceptable.”

The rural municipality issued an apology on its website saying more water came down the creek than anticipated. Olynyk said next time they’ll give residents the heads-up.

“Best practices moving forward, whenever we do something like that, we'll make sure that we put out notice,” he said.

“That's a start,” Davies said. “Because, you know, we're all lucky no one got hurt here.”