Doug McNeil, the City's Senior Planning Engineer says, "if the river reaches the highest predicted level, the reality is that most dikes won't even get wet. However, when protecting Winnipeg properties, we always err on the side of caution."

The Provincial forecast indicates that water levels in the City are expected to be at 745.6 feet above sea level at James Avenue over the next three weeks - 1.4 feet lower than the 1996 peak. South of the floodway, the forecast is for the water to reach 762.0 feet above sea level - about 2.6 feet below the 1996 peak.

McNeil says, "we are contacting the affected property owners beginning this afternoon. The Easter long weekend will give people an excellent opportunity to build the required dikes." He says, "although it is difficult to predict precisely when the crest will occur, we know it will be soon, and therefore, to be on the safe side, we urge people to take action now."

The City presently has 60,000 sandbags on hand and over the next two days will produce an additional 40,000 bags for any contingencies, such as isolated overland flooding which could occur in the event of heavy rain.