Hydro plans to chop down 262 trees on Winnipeg street

Manitoba Hydro is removing 262 trees from Selkirk Avenue as they’re coming too close to powerlines.

Manitoba Hydro is planning to chop down more than 262 trees encroaching on power lines along a street in Winnipeg.

Starting next week, the Crown corporation said crews will be removing trees along Selkirk Avenue between Keewatin Street and Railway Street.

“In this particular case, on Selkirk Avenue, those trees are just not compatible with being planted directly under power lines. It’s too dangerous,” said Peter Chura, a media relations officer with Manitoba Hydro.

He noted there have already been outages along this line caused by trees contacting the 24,000-volt power lines. Chura said this can also cause fires, bring down power lines, or increase risk to crews trying to repair the damage.

“They really need to come down,” he said.

Hydro said trimming these trees—fast-growing Siberian elms—would not solve the problem.

“They regrow, and they re-sucker very, very quickly, and they would be a continual problem and a continual risk to public safety, employee safety, and the reliability of our energy system.”

Hydro confirmed most of these trees are on city-owned property, while the rest are on the property of the nearby rail yard. None are on homeowners’ property, the Crown corporation told CTV News.

A city spokesperson said the city was notified earlier this year.

“Despite our attempts to work with Hydro on a plan to preserve the trees through pruning or replanting, they have now informed us they intend to remove them without compensation to the City for replanting,” A spokesperson told CTV News in an email.

“We intend to continue discussions with Hydro regarding compensation to the City for us to replant the trees.”

Chura said the Crown corporation is acting under the authority of the Manitoba Hydro Act, which he said gives Hydro the power to trim or remove trees that pose a potential problem or risk to the public or the utility equipment.

“We trim trees away from power lines where possible, but in situations like this, unfortunately, removal is the only option,” Steven McDonald, with Hydro’s forestry section, said in a news release.

“The priority is greater safety for our customers and employees and fewer power outages.”

Chura said last year the Crown corporation spent about $13.5 million on vegetation management. This year, he said Hydro is on track to more than double that.