“Duff’s Ditch”: The Red River Floodway of Winnipeg

A catastrophic flood inundated the city of Winnipeg in the spring of 1950, leading to the evacuation of 100,000 people and the destruction of more than 10,000 homes. In response, plans were developed for a long-term solution to the flood threat. Dufferin (Duff) Roblin, Manitoba’s Premier, spearheaded the push for a diversion channel around the city for use in extreme flooding events. Construction of this major engineering project began in October 1962 and concluded in March of 1968 at a cost of around $63 million. The resulting floodway stretched for 47 kilometers with widths ranging between 213–304 meters and depths between 9–12 meters. These dimensions meant the excavation of 76.5 million cubic meters of earth, an earth-moving feat that was, at the time, second only to the construction of the Panama Canal. The project was initially very controversial, being referred to as “Roblin’s Folly” by opponents. The Red River Floodway would earn its keep in the coming years, however, being put into operation during floods some 20 times, preventing upwards of $10 billion in damages. Indeed, had it not existed during the “Flood of the Century” in May 1997, the Red would have overtopped the city’s primary dikes by 2.5 meters flooding approximately two-thirds of Winnipeg, causing a projected US$4 billion in damages.

Contributed by Jennifer Abplanalp
Course: Modern Global Environmental History
Instructor: Dr. Wilko Graf von Hardenberg
University of Wisconsin–Madison, US