Farmers shouldn’t watch water swamp their land and then cry for compensation.
They should act before damage occurs and take responsibility for local drainage, Rural Municipality of Langenburg reeve Leo Fuhr told the Saskatchewan Conservation and Development Association annual convention last week.
“RMs can’t sit back and wait for big government to do it for them.”
Fuhr told SCDA delegates how his RM, facing floods brought on by blocked streams and creeks, decided to unilaterally clear the channels, even though a wildlife organization and a government department were opposed.
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He said his council wanted to clear streams running through land controlled by Ducks Unlimited, but the wetlands organization wouldn’t agree to the clearing.
So the RM invoked its “nuisance clause” to clear the channel and open the blockage, regardless of the group’s objections.
Fuhr said his RM is still fighting to get the government to pay its share of the channel clearing, but vowed to continue activist drainage operations whether the government funds it or not.
“We’re still going to do what has to be done to correct the system and protect the livelihoods of our farmers,” said Fuhr.
