The Saskatchewan and federal governments on Monday announced $2.3 million to support six water projects in western Saskatchewan, ranging from feasibility studies to the laying of supply pipes.
The approved projects include five research projects and a regional pipeline project, all of which are either already underway or complete. Among them are:
- a review of the North Saskatchewan River’s potential for water storage and other uses, now underway and weighing the environmental, economic and social issues stemming from in-stream developments, such as weirs and dams, compared to off-stream developments, such as reservoirs ($342,887);
- a study now underway to gauge the size of the Rosetown aquifer with an eye toward whether it can be sustainably used to supply water to the northern portion of the proposed Sask Landing Regional Water Supply System ($193,874);
- a City of North Battleford project underway to study the effects of using electrical current to cut down the bacterial slime that plugs well screens ($417,950);
- a regional pipeline project, now in its end stages, to lay over 300 km of water lines to supply potable water running east from Kindersley to over 115 rural subscribers, four communities and a Hutterite colony ($1 million);
- an assessment, already completed, of aquifers (ground water supplies) in the Unity area for their ability to provide sustainable, long-term water supply for a proposed ethanol plant ($51,440); and
- a feasibility study, already conducted with five municipalities northwest of Outlook, to “redefine” their potential irrigable area in light of recent advances in irrigation water application ($293,892).
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The money comes from the Canada-Saskatchewan Water Supply Expansion Program (CSWSEP), which since 2003 has put about $15 million into on-farm and group water development. CSWSEP is part of the six-year, $60 million National Water Supply Expansion Program, funded through the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF).
