New Sask. agency looks into drainage complaints

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/03/2013 (4849 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When the floodwater of 2011 finally reached Westman, it was undoubtedly well travelled.

Much of the water, which comes from the Red River drainage basin, originated outside of the province.

In the case of the Qu’Appelle and Assiniboine rivers, the majority of the water flow came from watershed areas in Saskatchewan. And the Souris River collects water in Saskatchewan and North Dakota before connecting with the Assiniboine River northeast of Wawanesa.

This year, those watershed areas combined with watershed basins in Manitoba appear destined to cause flooding again as the province announced on Wednesday that some areas will likely encounter minor to moderate flooding this spring.

Patrick Boyle, with the Water Security Agency in Saskatchewan, confirmed that in many of the Qu’Appelle, Assiniboine and Souris river catchment areas there is excess moisture.

“There has been above normal winter precipitation and well above average water equivalent in the snow pack for this time of year,” Boyle said. “There will be above average runoff in Saskatchewan.”

Boyle said particular areas — Moose Jaw to Yorkton and Saskatoon to Prince Albert — are susceptible to high runoff due to increased accumulation of snow. All areas that feed the three rivers into Manitoba.

Compounding the problem is the fact much of the flow in the Qu’Appelle River is water diverted from the South Saskatchewan River.

On Wednesday, Stan Cochrane, president of the Assiniboine Valley Producers, said Manitoba needs to get tougher on Saskatchewan and what he and many farmers perceive as lax drainage regulations and enforcement for our neighbours to the west.

“They don’t have the regulations in Saskatchewan that we have in Manitoba,” Cochrane said. “They’re just draining it as fast as they can drain it and it’s been accelerated lately because Saskatchewan is admitting they have to do something about their drainage problem … in the meantime the guys are saying: ‘Let’s get this water drained before they bring in regulations that say we can’t do it.’”

Last year, the Saskatchewan Government created the Water Security Agency to aggregate “all water management expertise in one area,” according to Boyle. The new agency was also tasked with implemented the province’s 25 Year Saskatchewan Water Security Plan.

“It’s the guiding principal behind everything we want to do and the Water Security Agency is the group designed to lead that plan,” Boyle said.

The plan looks at several aspects of water management within the province, including agricultural drainage and flooding of surface water.

It also offers three recommendations and a timeline for implementation, but it may be the second “action” that is of most interest to landowners in Manitoba.

The plan suggests the province “develop a results-based drainage works approval process and associated enforcement strategy, including the potential use of financial penalties,” with completion by 2014.

Currently, the agency uses a two-prong approach to drainage issues.

Complainants may file a request for assistance, where “the complaint is investigated and impacts are determined and a recommendation letter outlining a solution is sent,” Boyle said.

Or, a formal complaint can be filed, where “there is a investigation,” Boyle said, and “if the drainage works and it is impacting another individual the decision order would state that the ditch requires closure.”

In some cases, the government may even close the ditch themselves with the cost being passed on to the landowner.

Boyle said the office doesn’t issue fines and only one case in the last seven years has made it through the court system, resulting in a $3,500 fine.

“It usually doesn’t get that far and our preference is to solve it with the first step.”

But he also said the complaint process was backlogged when the new agency took it over and that new staff and some private consultants have been hired to review complaints.

“There has definitely been some action taken,” Boyle said.

Steve Ashton, Manitoba’s emergency measures minister, said Wednesday the province continues to work with Saskatchewan to resolve the issues, something Boyle confirmed.

But Ashton also said, “When you have illegal drainage, what it does is it shifts impacts from one property to another and from one community to another and really that’s not acceptable.”

“We feel it’s important to have appropriate enforcement and licensing when it comes to drainage (in Saskatchewan).”

» ctweed@brandonsun.com