Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 25, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 CITY & BUSINESS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 city. desk@ freepress. mb. ca I winnipegfreepress. com TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014 B 1 ONE of the first things the province's new chief flood forecaster learned as a student about Manitoba was that it flooded a lot. Google told him that. " When I was in Africa I Googled, ' What is the best place for water and flood fighting' and Manitoba is one of the best places," Fisaha Unduche said Monday. " I looked at other provinces, but Manitoba is one of the best known for floods." So Unduche was sold. And he hasn't been disappointed. The 38- year- old married father of two children was introduced by the government Monday as its new top flood forecaster, one of the more demanding positions in the province with each spring thaw. Born and raised in southern Ethiopia, he was chosen as the best of seven candidates for the job. He replaces Phillip Mutulu, who now works in Calgary for a private consulting firm. " I'm honoured to get this position and I'll work hard and I'll make my team work hard so that Manitobans get the best forecasts they deserve," Unduche said. " I'm ready to go." Undeche now leads a 12- person team going into flood season. Unduche's first spring flood outlook will be released later this week. Unduche said his forecast will be similar to recent forecasts from North Dakota and Saskatchewan that have said the risk of spring flooding is low, but added that depends on how much more snow falls before spring. " What we're expecting for this year is normal to below normal for most parts of Manitoba, which is good news for Manitobans, but it all depends how the weather co- operates in the next month as well," he said. For the past five years Unduche was the senior water control systems planning engineer for the province where he got first- hand experience with flooding in 2009 and 2011. He comes to the job with the province still stinging from criticism it did a poor job of forecasting 2011 flood levels in western Manitoba. The 2011 Flood Review Task Force, chaired by civil engineer David Farlinger, found the province's flood forecasting team was inexperienced and lacked the necessary resources to deal with the deluge it faced in southern Manitoba. Unduche said the forecasting office now has a lot more tools at its disposal, including installation of new hydrometric stations to calibrate river flows, new weather stations to measure precipitation and new modelling methods to run the numbers to make accurate forecasts. " When everything is complete and in place we believe that we have some of the best equipment and technology for any type of flood," he said. Unduche said he came to Manitoba to further his studies at the University of Manitoba under civil engineering professor Jay Doering, where he earned his PhD in water resource engineering and researched river ice formation. " There are three components to flood forecasting," Doering said. " There is the data, the model and there's the people. He's definitely not the weakest link. He can pull it all together. He's a very bright person. " And it is actually nice to see our students go on and to succeed." Prior to joining the Manitoba government, Unduche worked as a water resources engineer at AECOM, an international engineering services company. He obtained his master of civil engineering at the International Hydraulic Engineering Institute in the Netherlands and took further post- graduate work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. bruce. owen@ freepress. mb. ca SEE BARTLEY KIVES B3 A UNION leader blames the city for the slowness of repairs to frozen water lines plaguing hundreds of Winnipeg homes. " This is winter in Winnipeg," said Mike Davidson, president of CUPE Local 500, which represents city employees. " First it was busted water mains, then snow clearing and now it's frozen pipes. Citizens of Winnipeg deserve better than this." Davidson said the staff shortages are deliberate and widespread, part of the city's plan to save $ 14 million in a hiring freeze. " We are running skeleton staffs right across the city and citizens are paying the price for it." City officials confirmed there are 296 properties across Winnipeg on a waiting list to have water lines thawed out and a spokeswoman said the city is doing everything it can to deal with the problem. Kaylee Mack is a 28- year- old Elmwood mother with three young daughters, ages two, six and eight. For the past eight days, they've had no water at their Chalmers Avenue home and she has no idea how much longer it will go on. Mack has been relying on storebought water every day and trips with her daughters to the local YMCA every other day to shower. Mack said she buys two 19- litre jugs of water from a local grocery store and uses it to wash dishes and for food preparation. " I called the city on the second day and they told me it would be fixed in four days," Mack said Monday. " On the fourth day, they told me it would be seven days. " It's now Day 8 and the city can't tell me how much longer it's going to be - they have no idea." " I can't believe I live in a big city and I've got no water," said Jesse Mysak, 31, who lives on Warsaw Avenue. " I called 311 and they said they're backed up seven days and I said, ' I know that - I've been waiting nine days.' " A civic spokeswoman said the number of homes affected by frozen water lines is the highest in 35 years, with the typical wait time now seven days and longer. The spokeswoman said the city has assigned all available staff - three crews - working seven days a week and an additional crew working overnight five days a week. On the weekend, finance chairman Coun. Russ Wyatt said the city has been unable to effectively clear sidewalks and some streets because too much of its equipment is sitting idle because the city doesn't have enough mechanics to repair it. Wyatt blamed administrators fearful of challenging Local 500, but Davidson said the city doesn't have enough heavy- duty mechanics on staff and there is a ban on overtime. " The city won't hire the staff they need to repair the broken equipment, and they won't authorize overtime for the staff they do have," Davidson said. " This is not the level of service that Winnipeggers expect or deserve." City officials said there is no ban on overtime and efforts are being taken to deal with the backlog to repair broken snow- clearing equipment and thaw frozen water lines. The problem of frozen water lines is so severe Mack and other homeowners like her are not even on the city's priority list. Her ward councillor's office told her crews with thawing equipment are concentrating on schools, hospitals, daycare facilities and residents with special health needs. " I have to rely on friends for water so I can flush my toilet," said Mountain Avenue resident Cathy Chorney, 55. " I have been without water since Feb. 14. This is nuts." Mysak said he understands he is on a waiting list but doesn't understand why the city can't tell him when they'll fix the problem. " They won't tell me," Mysak said. " Do I wait two weeks, a month? Do I have to wait until spring when everything is thawed out? Do I have to move back into my dad's home?" aldo. santin@ freepress. mb. ca By Bruce Owen New flood forecaster came to the right place JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kaylee Mack and her three young daughters ( from left) Maykenzie, Gracelyn and Keanna head out to get water at their grandparents' home Monday. They have been without water for eight days. ' It's now Day 8 and the city can't tell me how much longer it's going to be - they have no idea' - Kaylee Mack Freeze freezes pipe repairs? Union blames lack of staff as homes go without water By Aldo Santin Has the city become too lean to provide services taxpayers expect? JOIN THE CONVERSATION Go to winnipegfreepress. com and add your comments to the conversation KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS New flood forecaster Fisaha Unduche and Infrastructure Minister Steve Ashton. 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