A news released issued Friday by the Manitoba Floodway Authority (MFA) warns recreational users to avoid the channel, its bridges and intake control areas.
Construction work, thin ice and spots with open water make it a dangerous place right now, the release states.
The 48-kilometre-long channel is used to redirect floodwater around the east side of Winnipeg from the community of St. Norbert in the south to Lockport in the north.
At other times in the year when the channel is dry or contains just shallow water, it is used by outdoor enthusiasts, particularly off-road and all-terrain vehicle users.
The floodway is undergoing a massive, $600-million-plus expansion project to deepen the channel. That will increase the level of protection from major floods with a one-in-90-year probability to those with a one-in-700-year probability.
The work began in 2005 and is near completion.
Until it is done, however, the floodway is considered an "active construction zone" at various locations and the MFA wants to reduce the danger to workers as well, the release states.
