September 19, 2006

The province is spending over $4 million on 29 drainage projects across the province to help improve drainage and agricultural production, Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton announced today.

“We have doubled the amount of funding dedicated to drainage compared to what was spent in previous years,” said Ashton. “Good surface water management not only helps protect crops from summer rain storms during the growing season, it helps to reduce some of the impacts of overland spring flooding and provides drought resistance in other years.”

The expansion of the department’s drainage budget has been complemented by the current drier summer, enabling Manitoba Water Stewardship to complete more drainage projects. This involves a variety of work including channel reconstruction and improvements, bank repairs, dike construction and installation of culverts. The expenditures planned for this year range from $50,000 to $300,000 for individual projects.

Of the $4.2 million, $1.8 million is targeted for the Interlake region, $1.8 million for the Red River and eastern regions, $550,000 for the northwest and $100,000 for the western region. The funds are distributed on a priority basis.

In Manitoba, 8.1 million hectares of land are designated for agricultural purposes and 5.3 million hectares of this amount have been improved or developed. An estimated two million hectares of productive farmland have been made possible by agricultural drainage.

“Drainage is essential for Manitoba’s farming community and the Interlake projects undertaken now will assist local producers long-term as past projects have done in other areas,” said Ashton. “Properly managed drainage projects have enabled producers to create some of the best farmland in the province, which contribute substantially to the economy of Manitoba.”

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Hatchery Road Drain, $200,000 – A four-year project to enlarge about 3.2 kilometres of drain in conjunction with the rural municipalities of Coldwell and Armstrong. The total project cost is $800,000.

Pasquia Polder 3E (RM of Kelsey), $300,000 – The first phase of an eight-year, $3 million project to construct three short drains will be undertaken to improve flow into the main drain as part of a multi-year project.

Pasquia Polder 1, Mile 14 Pump Station (RM of Kelsey), $150,000 – A three-year project, including design and construction, to replace the over 50-year-old existing facility. Total project cost is $900,000.

West Partridge Creek, $200,000 – Drain enlargement in the RM of Grahamdale. The $300,000, two-year project is scheduled for completion in the fall of this year.

Dominion City Ring Dike Drain (RM of Franklin), $200,000 – The one-year project will improve agricultural drainage impacted by the construction of the Dominion City dike in the 1970s.

Harrington Drain (RM of Dauphin), $100,000 – Over the next two years, the drain will be restored as extensive bank slumping and silt deposition has significantly reduced its capacity. Total project cost is $150,000.

Lot 16 Drain (RM of Macdonald), $200,000 – A two-year, $400,000 project to restore the drain to its original capacity by rebuilding sloped sides and clearing excessive vegetative growth.

Main Drain No. 1 (Rural municipalities of Alexander, Lac du Bonnet and St. Clements), $300,000 – A five-year project will reshape, upgrade and enlarge Main Drain No. 1. Total project cost is $1.5 million.

Netley Creek (RM of Rockwood), $225,000 – Funding for an ongoing project to enlarge Netley Creek. The nine-year, $1.6 million project is scheduled to be completed in about three years.

Roblin Drain (RM of Roblin), $150,000 – Over the next three years, this $350,000 project will restore and improve the drain’s capacity to handle agricultural run-off flows.

Rosenheim Drain (RM of Rhineland), $102,300 – This four-year, $990,000 project will restore and enlarge the drain to service adjoining farmland.

Maple Creek (RM of Lac du Bonnet), $50,000 – Startup funding for a five-year, $1.6 million project to rehabilitate and enlarge the drain to accommodate changing cropping practices.

Atchison Drain (RM of Macdonald), $300,000 – A single-year project to enlarge the drain to adequately service cropping practices that have changed over time.

Grassmere Drain (RM of West St. Paul), $100,000 – This bank stability and drain reconstruction project will be completed over a 12-year period at a total cost of $3.8 million.

Long Lake Drain (RM of St. Andrews), $300,000 – Installation of culverts at seven locations and reconstruction of the drain north of Clandeboye Road to Wavey Creek. The eight-year project will cost about $2 million.

Sturgeon Creek restoration (Rural municipalities of Rockwood, Rosser, St. Francois Xavier and Woodlands), $125,000 – The $700,000 project will require four years to reshape and reconstruct the waterway to fix bank failures and to remove soil drifting and vegetative growth.

Dennis Lake (RM of Armstrong), $175,000 – This single-year project is designed to ease flooding along Dennis Lake by routing run-off away from the lake.

North Crooked Lake Drain (RM of Bifrost), $100,000 – Right-of-way acquisition for the reconstruction of the drain over the next five years to improve agricultural drainage and help reduce the risk of summer-time flooding of several residences. Total project cost is $700,000.

Poplarfield Drain (RM of Fisher), $100,000 – Installations of culverts at several locations. This $200,000 project has been ongoing for the past seven years with completion scheduled for next fall.

Rossendale Drain (RM of North Norfolk), $50,000 – A four-year, $950,000 project to reshape and stabilize the drain deterioration caused by topography and lighter soils.

Long Lake Drain (Rural municipalities of Portage la Prairie, St. Francois Xavier and Woodlands), $100,000 – A four-year project to reshape and reconstruct the waterway. Total project cost is $700,000.

Plishka Drain (RM of Fisher Branch), $100,000 – Land acquisition for dike construction and water retention in 2007 to reduce flooding in the town of Fisher Branch. This $300,000, three-year project has been underway for one year.

Dewar Drain (RM of St. Andrews), $100,000 – This project includes right-of-way acquisition for the reconstruction of the existing drain and is scheduled for completion in about two years. The $250,000 project will also have some benefit for Oak Hammock Marsh.

Kilkenny Drain (RM of Fisher), $50,000 – Land acquisition for water retention and reconstruction of existing drains. The $800,000 project is scheduled for completion over five or six years.

Broad Valley Drain (RM of Fisher), $50,000 – Acquisition of right-of-way to realign drains in the upper reaches of the Broad Valley system to improve agricultural drainage standards. The $1-million project will be completed over six years.

Meleb Drain (RM of Gimli), $50,000 – Dike construction to prevent flooding of agricultural lands. The improvements will be made over the next five years. The total project cost is $800,000.

Wavey Creek (RM of Rockwood), $50,000 – Right-of-way acquisition for reconstruction work scheduled for completion over seven years with a total cost of $1.5 million.

Devil’s Creek (Rural municipalities of Springfield, Brokenhead and St. Clements), $200,000 – A three-year project with a total cost of $600,000 to repair the badly-slumping creek banks causing downstream complications.

Big Lake Control Structure (Pasquia Polder 3W) (RM of Kelsey), $100,000 – a single-year project to replace the badly-deteriorated culverts in the control structure that regulates flows into the agricultural area to the east.