Premier Brian Pallister says barring a major rain Manitoba this spring, for the most part, avoided serious flood problems. He admits there are parts of the province that weren't spared but he says it could have been worse.

"Obviously right now our priorities are these water-drenched communities," the premier notes. "There are some significant repairs that have to be done to restore their road and drain systems to previous levels. We've reached out to Saskatchewan. I'll continue to work with Premier Wall as well. Work that should have been done a decade ago is getting done now. Moving toward, more regulated water management in Saskatchewan and a better partnership between our two provinces is our aim. We're neighbours, after all. I grew up on a small farm. We didn't solve our water problem on our neighbour's field."

He admits there are parts of the province that weren't spared.

"We literally had days to evaluate it," explains Pallister. "I think there was no doubt we could have been worse, you could say. That doesn't give any comfort to the people in those areas affected. But practices have changed, not just in Saskatchewan, to be fair. It has also changed in our province. Water doesn't tend to get stored as much as it used to, and you tend to get a big flow quickly. Fortunately for us, the Souris and the Assiniboine peaks didn't exactly coincide. Had they, that could have been a really serious problem for a lot of Manitobans. Water management is an ongoing challenge. We're investing significant amounts now, and we'll continue to do so in drainage issues related to diking."

Pallister says flood mitigation and protection projects remain a priority for the government.