A farmer in southwestern Manitoba insists more should be done to conserve and retain water in his region of the province.
Glen Franklin, a grain and cattle producer at Deloraine, Man., is concerned about the need to retain water in holding ponds or large dugouts as a precaution against drought.
“The fact of the matter is we’re short of water laying around,” said Franklin, who farms in an area where limited moisture for livestock and crop production was a concern this year and last.
He thinks more funding from government is needed to tackle the issue of water conservation on the Prairies. Producers and municipalities need financial and technical support when deciding where projects might be most effective.
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There also needs to be more education, Franklin said.
“Not enough work is being done to convince people that maybe draining a slough is not a good idea. That message doesn’t seem to be getting out.”
The issues raised by Franklin are the kind that fall under the National Water Supply Expansion Program, announced last year by federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief. The four-year, $60 million program is intended to help plan and develop secure water sources for agriculture to alleviate the risk of shortages.
Dave Kiely, manager of the program, said it provides funding for what he called on-farm infrastructure, multi-user infrastructure and strategic work.
The funds for on-farm infrastructure cover individual farm projects such as dugouts, wells, pasture pipelines and off-stream holding ponds.
The multi-user infrastructure encompasses things like regional pipelines and municipal watering points, commonly known as community wells.
The strategic work is supposed to bring a better understanding of available water resources and how to best manage them. That includes regional ground water studies, ground water exploration or testing, regional water management planning, and water supply planning and feasibility studies.
