Flooded southwest Manitoba campground facing shortened season

Water in parts of southwestern Manitoba have barely begun to recede, but one Brandon campground remains saturated in flood waters.

Flooding has compromised many businesses in the area, including the farming, oil, and recreational camping industries.

Mark Kovatch, owner of Turtle Crossing Campground, said the grounds were still usable as early the as Canada Day long weekend.

"The rain came and we had most of the people evacuated by Saturday night."

Now, picnic tables are fastened tightly to tree bases covered by flood waters. Campers and RVs on the grounds were safe, but after the river crested a second time, they, too, were put in jeopardy.

Kovatch’s home is still above water, but he said the high waters are an eerie reminder of the 2011 flood.

"We certainly weren't expecting it to happen three years later," said Kovatch. "I would have liked to have not have been tested so soon."

The 2011 flood inspired Kovatch to invest in flood mitigation measures, building up the land under his home and moving electrical panels up to higher ground.

We don't mind doing do our part, we just hope the government will do theirs- Mark Kovatch, Turtle Cross Campground

The good news for Kovatch: this time around it will be more a matter of cleanup and less about damage control once waters recede.

The bad news is the camping season has been significantly cut short on Kovatch’s camp grounds, threatening his livelihood.

"The problem of course is we only have three or four months to make a living in the campground business and it's getting shorter by the day," he said.

Kovatch has already had to cancel three weddings and relocate a circus he booked for August.

Owner wants more proactive measures from province

While no one could predict a weather event so severe, Kovatch said he wants to see more of a proactive approach from the province.

"We don't mind doing do our part," said Kovatch. "We just hope the government will do theirs."

A dike west of Turtle Crossing Campground is responsible for most of the flooding in the area, and Kovatch wants those to be better maintained.

For now, Kovatch is resigned to keeping the campground closed while he waits for waters to fall back to the river banks.

"A beautiful riverside campground – this is just one of the challenges," he said.

Kovatch said Turtle Crossing will be open into August.