The water is flowing again through the canals of the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District, but questions percolate over why one of Alberta’s major irrigation systems has been unable to provide early season water to its stakeholders for the second straight year.
The irrigation district said it is confident that a total water allocation of 16 inches per acre is achievable for the rest of the growing season, as long as only 75 percent of irrigation takes place at the same time in the district.
That allotment is up significantly from mid-June’s 4.5 inch distribution rate and the one-inch level irrigators were limited to for much of May.
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The Keho Reservoir is more than three-quarters full, which is being heralded as a major improvement. The reservoir feeds much of the system and runs from Fort Macleod to Coaldale.
However, details of what went wrong at the canal headgates, owned by the Alberta government and located on the Piikani Nation’s territory, remain unclear, aside from there was a leak in the liner in the system.
No update from Alberta agriculture minister RJ Sigurdson or his office was made available regarding the situation.
This year’s issue comes after problems developed in 2022 when members of the Piikani Nation prevented access to the headgates of the LNID canal.
That issue was settled through an undisclosed agreement between the government and First Nation.
Stephen Vandervalk, a grain grower near Fort Macleod, said farmers are frustrated by the lack of details on what occurred, the possible costs to keep the water flowing and the lack of accountability.
He said there are rumours questioning the quality of workmanship, the timing of the provincial tender and cost of emergency repairs.
“Is there any consequence to these people for what they do?” asked Vandervalk. “It seems like that’s why these problems are happening over and over again because nobody is taking responsibility.”
He said he had a productive meeting with the new MLA for the region, Chelsae Petrovic, on her first day in the position but hasn’t heard back.
“I don’t know why there was a leak. I don’t think anybody knows. They just knew there was a leak there and it was a problem,” he said. “We haven’t run the canal full for a number of years because of that leak.”
The recent notification of 16 inches of water being made available should be enough for some hay, cereals and oilseed crops but it might be a struggle for area potato and specialty crops producers because it’s coming so late in the growing season.
“Any of the guys who were two-cropping, the winter crops were done,” said Vandervalk of the damage that has already occurred.
“For me, I lost probably a third to a half of my first cut of Timothy (hay)…. As far as my grains and oilseeds, I think we limped through it.”
It is a wait-and-see situation regarding yield loss, he added.
Vandervalk hopes that meetings between the provincial government, LNID and water users happen soon.
“And there needs to be talk of compensation for people where the water didn’t come in time and there needs to be a full review on how these projects are bid out,” he said. “And there needs to be accountability for when something like this does happen.”
While other irrigation districts across southern Alberta have been spared the dramatic failures faced by LNID, Mother Nature has not been co-operating to ensure water supply.
The two main rivers feeding those systems, the Oldman and Bow, are running at a little higher than half the low end of normal flow rates for June.
