Farm land owner Boris Michaleski (left) and IMCD technician Aaron Kulbacki stand at one of two dry dam sites constructed earlier this year on Michaleski’s farm land to temporarily hold back water during peak flows.

Farm-based dry dams to help reduce downstream flooding

Intermountain Conservation District built two dry dams in 2016 on a 
Keld-area farm that will hold water temporarily on farmland – the landowner sees gains from doing so

Road washouts, soil erosion and other water-related damage are nothing new to any municipality, but some parts of Manitoba are especially vulnerable. Those living and farming around Riding Mountain National Park are all too familiar with the kind of havoc water rushing downstream creates. With the steepest slopes in the province in their region, Inter-Mountain

Manitoba dairy farmer David Wiens worked with the RM of De Salaberry and the Seine Rat River Conservation District (SRRDC) to create a water retention area that covers a quarter section of his land and additional Crown land bringing the total to a full section. The undertaking will reduce downstream flooding and erosion, particularly where the Rat River flows into St. Malo Lake. It’s the largest project ever undertaken by the SRRCD.

Farmer sees water storage as ‘win-win’

The site covering an entire section temporarily holds back water to reduce downstream flooding

Few landowners would agree to hold water on their land without compensation — but one farmer is working with the Seine Rat River Conservation District (SRRCD) to buck convention. Dairy farmer David Wiens owns a quarter of a section — the rest is provincial Crown land — encompassed by a mile-long dike, constructed to hold


After a decade of experimentation with equipment and processes, cattail harvesting is poised to move beyond the pilot project stage.

Cattail harvesting shows promise to aid province’s water woes

The cattail-harvesting project taking place at Pelly’s Lake sees progress in extracting overloaded nutrients and processing 
the biomass crop

Ten years after a research team first considered harvesting cattails in Manitoba, one of the lead researchers remains as enthusiastic as ever about its environmental and economic potential. “Essentially, we have been working on this for the past 10 years. When we set out it was a small project looking at how cattails and reeds

portage diversion flood mitigation sructure

CDs struggling with core funding cut

MCDA fears losing RM support too

Provincial funding cuts to Manitoba’s conservation districts have prompted some municipalities to reconsider their support as well, the board chair of Manitoba Conservation Districts Association says. Speaking at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention during a bear pit session with provincial cabinet ministers, Heather Dalgleish said the program lost roughly 12 per cent of its

Support for Assiniboine River water commission grows

Support for Assiniboine River water commission grows

Stakeholders will meet again at November convention in Regina to formalize organization

The push to create a water commission for the Assiniboine River Basin is gaining momentum following the catastrophic flooding in western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan this spring. “This ongoing (flooding) event has certainly heightened awareness of the need for a basin-wide agency,” said Wanda McFadyen, who was hired by the Prairie Improvement Network to manage


Field Experience Lacking In Environmental Education

The environmental scientist of the future may be someone who sits at a computer in an office building all day and never ventures outdoors. Gordon Goldsborough raised that scenario with the Manitoba Conservation Districts Association to warn about the state of environmental education in Canada. Students in environmental programs are being shortchanged because universities are

Conservation Districts Touted As Helping To Cure Lake Winnipeg

Delegates attending the Manitoba Conservation District Association’s annual meeting here heard repeatedly that the solution to Lake Winnipeg’s pollution lies in their own fields and streams. Conservation districts are the first line of defence in cleaning up Lake Winnipeg because they manage the watersheds where the problem starts, Harold Foster, Manitoba Conservation Districts Association chair

Another Dump Of Water Increases Flood Fears

As Manitoba prepares for possible flooding next spring, an additional flood risk looms from a lake drainage project in eastern Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan government is building an emergency channel to lower the level of Fishing Lake and alleviate the risk of flooding to nearby communities. Work on the project is scheduled to start Jan. 3.


Canada Already Selling Water To The U.S., Conference Told

Many Canadians worry about exporting their fresh water to the United States, just like oil and natural gas. But according to Maude Barlow, it’s already happening. Canada indirectly exports large volumes of water through the agricultural commodities it sells to the U.S., Barlow told the recent Manitoba Conservation Districts Association annual conference. According to Environment

Better Bang For The Buck Seen In Wetlands

“It’s also 10 times more cost effective potentially than the amount of money we’re investing in Winnipeg’s waste water treatment facility to remove phosphorus.” – GREG BRUCE, DUCKS UNLIMITED In a time of tight budgets and cutbacks, who will pay for preserving wetlands, natural landscapes, water quality and sequestering carbon? Greg Bruce, head of industry