Following the copious amounts of snow and rain we've seen over the past several months, the City of Portage la Prairie has decided to invest on upgrading the city's land drainage system.

The $5.8 million investment will be part of the overall Saskatchewan Avenue West Development Project and looks to increase the outfall capacity ten times over.

"As we see climate change resulting in more frequent severe storms, City Council made the decision to upgrade our investment into our land drainage system to provide added protection to property owners from overland flooding," says city councilor Ryan Espey. "While this is an investment that ratepayers won't see, we know it will be a good investment that will give us added protection for years to come."

The work will be done by E.F. Moon, which has done numerous construction jobs for the city in recent years. Once the work is completed, the upgraded system will take water from five culvert systems and divert it into Crescent Lake.

"The major priority of City Council during our term was the redevelopment of Saskatchewan Avenue, which has been talked about for decades," notes Mayor Irvine Ferris. "I am proud of this Council for having the vision to incorporate additional severe storm protection into a project that will also improve the beautification of our west end."

Work on the project is expected to be completed by the end of August.

The map of the new drainage system