Lack of government support | Provincial contribution to water retention projects down 12 percent
A supporter of faltering local efforts to control drainage and flooding in rural Manitoba has issued a plea to the provincial government.
“Does the province of Manitoba not realize that every small dam and water retention project that we do is in fact flood mitigation?” Heather Dalgleish challenged premier Greg Selinger and his cabinet during the Association of Manitoba Municipalities’ bear pit session.
“In a time when surface water management and water quality is critical, we have had a core reduction in our funding, and it is going to de-stroy our program if the province does not step up to the plate and bump us back at least to where we were two years ago.”
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Conservation districts are locally based organizations that oversee drainage networks. In recent years, they have also turned their focus on ensuring local drainage doesn’t cause downstream flooding.
Many have installed structures to stop water flushing off farm fields into rivers and lakes.
The districts use funding from municipalities and other organizations, which has traditionally been matched three to one by the provincial government.
However, Dalgleish said the government has cut its conservation district support by 12 percent, which is jeopardizing efforts to persuade more municipalities and organizations to fund these initiatives.
“We heard very, very strongly that we’re at risk of losing some of our member partners,” said Dalgleish.
“It’s very disheartening.”
Selinger said he recognizes the work of conservation districts, which are a cheap way to reduce flooding.
“They’ve done excellent work over the years,” said Selinger. “It is very cost-effective what you do, and it does make a gigantic difference.”
