| Good News for the Seine Thursday, March 23, 2000 1) New hope for a struggling Seine - the siphon has been repaired A GIANT STEP IN RESTORING THE RIVER: Not only will the estimated 85 beavers living along the Seine within our city 1) have cause for celebration this Saturday - but also the many friends and supporters of Save Our Seine that have sought for a decade to nurse the river back to life. The siphon structure that channels the Seine River under the floodway had been leaking for years. A Coalition of 43 organizations for a Canoeable Seine River was formed in a bid to lobby for its repair. Exasperated further by the flood of 97, it was discovered that the Seine was no longer flowing out of the outlet at all during low water flows - spilling instead through the walls of the floodway. The repair to the siphon will ultimately change the face of the river as we know it, flowing in a manner that we have not seen for decades. While there may not be any appreciable difference during normal water flows, the difference will be dramatic during low flows - when an estimated 8-10 cubic feet per second previously lost to the floodway will once again flow through its 26-kilometer course through the city of Winnipeg. On Saturday March 25, at 10 AM on the south side of the floodway by Hallama Drive, the temporary dike built to allow the repair of the siphon will be removed allowing water to gush through the newly repaired siphon for the first time. Repair to the siphon was undertaken by Nelson River Construction at a cost of $620,000 by the Province of Manitoba. 1) City Naturalist inventory - conducted in November 1999 by canoe. 2)Seine River Heritage Greenway - city's newest park? JUST ADD WATER: After more than six years of planning, the recommendations of the Seine River Task Force, the most comprehensive inventory conducted in the history of the City of Winnipeg has finally moved forward. The study was adopted last week at Riel Community Committee it is now rocketing its way to City Council for approval. Proposed are approximately 20 km of new Seine River trails, 5 new pedestrian bridges, 6 canoe launch sites, 63 historic points of interest for recognition and 8 thematic areas for historical interpretation and natural program presentation. SOS has always known that the Seine is an 'as yet to be discovered Provincial Park in our backyard', a canoe river of unparalleled beauty offering some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the Province. The Seine River also oozes with history and is home to one of the most significant historic sites in Western Canada. Contact: Jim Paterson, Seine River Task Force Chair, City of Winnipeg Parks & Planning: 986-5656 3) SOS to receive National Recognition: Save Our Seine will be the grateful recipient of the Certificate of Environmental Citizenship from Environment Canada, the first environmental group in Manitoba to receive the award. With a lot of help from our Friends SOS thanks: present and past board members, SOS's Urban Green Teams, the City of Winnipeg Parks Department, City of Winnipeg Forestry Department, Manitoba M�tis Federation Urban Green Team, la Brigade de la Rivi�re Rouge, les Associ�(e)s du Fort Gibraltar, Festival du Voyageur, Manitoba Living History Society, Forces of Lord Selkirk, Manitoba Eco-Network Youth Caucus, M�tis Horticultural Society Urban Green Team, Omand's Creek Urban Green Team, Ambassadors of Tree Plan Canada "Let's Root for Canada", Manitoba Foresty Association, le Conseil de d�veloppement �conomique des municipalit�s bilingues du Manitoba, U.of M. Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Vincent Massey Collegiate, l'Association des �tudiant(e)s du Coll�ge universitaire de Saint-Boniface, les Ailes vertes (Ducks Unlimited), Boy Scouts / Girl Guides of Canada, les Pionniers de Saint-Boniface, Green Kids, Church of Latter Day Saints, employees of AT&T Canada, organizing committee - Governor's Derby on the Seine, former Lieutenant Governor - Yvon Dumont & friends, Shirley Render, David Newman. Contact: Gord Yelland, Project Officer, Community Program, Environment Canada: 983-8597 Schedule of Events: Saturday 10:00 AM, March 25 With the participation of la Brigade de la Rivi�re Rouge 1. Seine River Task Force Update Councillor for St. Boniface - Dan Vandal 2. Inauguration of the siphon MLA for St. Boniface - Greg Selinger 3. Opening of the siphon 4. Certificate of Environmental Citizenship On behalf of the Federal Minister of the Environment David Anderson, Ron Duhamel Secretary of State (Western Diversification) (Francophonie) MP for St.Boniface 5. Giving thanks - Jean-Pierre Brunet president SOS How to get there: Drive south on Highway 59 (Lagimodi�re), cross the perimeter Hwy, keep driving south till you cross over the Red River Floodway, turn immediately right on HALLAMA Dr. Drive a little ways until you see a bunch of happy people. |