Red River Floodway

The Red River Floodway is an artificial flood control waterway in Western Canada, first used in 1969. It is a 47 km (29 mi) long channel which, during flood periods, takes part of the Red River's flow around the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba to the east and discharges it back into the Red River below the dam at Lockport. It can carry floodwater at a rate of up to 4,000 cubic metres (140,000 cubic feet) per second, expanded in the 2000s from its original channel capacity of 1,700 cubic metres (60,000 cubic feet). It was built partly in response to the disastrous 1950 Red River flood.

The Floodway was pejoratively nicknamed "Duff's Ditch" by opponents of its construction, after Premier Duff Roblin, whose Progressive Conservative government initiated the project. It was completed in time and under budget. Subsequent events have vindicated the plan. Used more than 20 times from its completion in 1968 to 2006, the Floodway has prevented over $100 billion (CAD) in cumulative flood damage. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2000, as the floodway is an outstanding engineering achievement both in terms of function and impact.

From south to north, the Floodway passes through the extreme southeastern part of Winnipeg and the rural municipalities of Ritchot, Springfield, East St. Paul, and St. Clements.

Construction of the Floodway started on October 6, 1962 and finished in March 1968. The construction was a major undertaking with 76.5 million cubic metres (2.75 billion cubic feet) of earth excavated—more than what was moved for the Suez Canal.

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