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Two people in a canoe had to be rescued after their craft capsized on the Assiniboine River near The Forks Thursday, prompting Winnipeg police to send out a warning about conditions, which have also kept the water bus from operating.
The people in the capsized canoe were swept downstream by the fast-moving current before they were pulled from the water by staff at The Forks, police said.
In a social media post, police advised people to avoid being on the water until there’s improvement in conditions that “are far more dangerous than they may appear from shore.”
They also advise people to keep a safe distance from the water.
Water was high Thursday, when the rescue happened, and has fluctuated a lot so far this year, a co-owner of the Winnipeg Waterways water bus and tour service said.
“The water levels have been pretty rambunctious this year,” Will Belford said Thursday. “In the past few weeks, they’ve been going up and down and up and down, and it’s been really hard to forecast.”
Will Belford pilots one of the Winnipeg Waterways boats near The Forks. High water has kept the company from running its water bus so far this summer. (Justin Fraser/CBC)
Winnipeg Waterways has operated tours from The Forks, where the Assiniboine flows into the Red River, but the water bus has not started operating yet.
The company built a high-water dock at The Forks, allowing tours to go ahead, but the public floating docks the water bus relies on need lower water levels, Belford said.
“We’re definitely losing some revenue,” said Belford, who says the water bus service can carry up to 400 people a day.
Winnipeg Waterways bought a new boat that it plans to put in service this year, but instead has been using it to offer special tours and give work to staff hired for the water bus.
“We’re hoping to introduce scheduled service … so you can set your watch and actually know when it’s coming — that, paired with a live map, so you can actually see where the bus is and if it’s on its way to you,” said Belford.
Water levels have been coming down, so he’s hopeful they can start up soon.
Both the Red and Assiniboine river levels are receding in Winnipeg. The Portage Diversion, a flood control channel west of Portage la Prairie, sends floodwaters north to Lake Manitoba. This protects communities east of the diversion, including Winnipeg.