| Saving Our Seine Yesterday I saved the Seine River. It is something that I do from time to time. You don�t have to thank me. It is one of the secret duties expected from a friend of the Seine River. The Seine River siphon, finally repaired in 2000, passes water at a rate of 8 to 10 cubic feet per second through a culvert under the Floodway. The water's destination is the Seine�s original riverbed in South St. Vital. Protecting the inlet for this pipe is a metal grating. This grating often becomes clogged with dead trees, sticks and reeds. A thick matting chokes off the water flow, especially after flood conditions like we had last week, and the Seine River within City limits begins its inevitable decline. Water levels fall and the clay river bottom is soon exposed. Winnipeg�s Seine River is no longer a wild river. Like a cat with no claws it depends entirely upon the kindness of people. The Province will clean the grate when asked, but the simplest thing to do is grab a rake and a pair of rubber boots. Ask any SOS Board member. We have all done this. One person can save the Seine. This year untold thousands of Winnipegers saved a special part of it, the Bois des Esprits. City councilors, expecting quiet sailing to re-election in the fall, suddenly found themselves tumbling about in a stormy sea this spring. Phone calls seemed as numerous as raindrops. E-mails poured in. Petitions rained from the sky. At functions and parties the councilors were buttonholed and asked, �What about that Seine River thing?� The Seine River seemed to have friends everywhere. Many Winnipegers may not own a pair of rubber boots. They may never strain under the weight of a heavy log jammed into a gumbo riverbottom. But when that log does give, and water finally plunges into a foamy maelstrom to feed the river, their feeling must be the same, the satisfaction of having done a good job. The task is not yet over. Save Our Seine is expected to raise $600,000 (not $1,000,000) over the next six months. We will try our best to meet the people and foundations who can help us meet that goal. The river, as always, needs our help. As Arthur Miller said, �Attention must be paid.� This spring, attention was paid,in full, by many people. Thank you, Winnipeg. With your actions this spring you all helped to save our Seine. |
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