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The Red River Floodway, a Canadian waterway which opened in 1968 (first used in 1969), is a 47 km flood control channel which, during flood periods, diverts part of the Red River around Winnipeg and discharges back into the Red River below the dam at Lockport, Manitoba.
It can cope with floodwater at a rate of 2,550 m³/s.
The floodway, started on October 6th, 1962 and finished in March 1968, was a major undertaking with 76.5 million cubic metres of earth excavated—more than what was moved for the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal. This made such a mark on the earth that it can be seen from a low earth orbit. (Note: there is a myth that the Floodway, along with the Great Wall of China, can be seen from the moon. This is false—no manmade structure can be seen from the moon.)
During the "Flood of the Century" in 1997, the volume of flood water exceeded the Floodway's design specification. Water lapped within inches of the city's dikes, and an extended dike (commonly known as the "Brunkild Z-dike") had to be built to prevent flooding from reaching around the southwest corner of the city. Primarily as a result of the floodway, the city suffered little flood damage.
In 2003, the province announced plans to expand the floodway, increasing its flow capacity from 2,550 m³/s to 4,000 m³/s.
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