SOURIS, Man. – The province is candid about the backlog of people awaiting water rights licences in Manitoba.
They can wait years before getting a decision from the province’s water licensing section. Irrigators account for a large part of that backlog, according to an official at a workshop here last week.
The Souris workshop was part of the water use and allocation review now under way in Manitoba. Those attending the workshop were told the province views the backlog of licence applications as a “fairly serious” concern.
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“A solution is imperative and we’re certainly looking at that right now,” said Raymond Bodnaruk, manager of the water licensing section.
The licences allow people to tap into water supplies such as rivers, streams and aquifers.
Irrigators now have more than 460 licence applications waiting to be processed in Manitoba. They have almost an equal number of expired licences in need of review.
The Irrigators Association in Manitoba is aware of the backlogs. The association was already talking about the issue in the early 1990s, said Doug Smallwood, AIM secretary-treasurer.
But Smallwood said the delay in getting licences approved is not a large concern for the association because the province can issue a temporary letter of approval, which allows irrigators to draw water from a river, stream or aquifer for one year. Such a practice has become common in the province and has not stalled the expansion of irrigation in Manitoba.
“I don’t think it’s stopping the development,” said Smallwood, “and I don’t think that’s the intention.”
A 1997 survey showed the growing role of irrigation in Manitoba. There were 64,000 acres under irrigation, with about two-thirds of that seeded to potatoes. Irrigation was also used for crops such as cereals, other vegetables and forages.
Input from the water use and allocation review will eventually become part of a new or amended water rights act for Manitoba. A consultant for irrigator associations said the time and money being spent on the review would be better used by making the existing act more effective.
“We don’t know where they’re putting their resources, but it’s certainly not into licensing,” said Blair Geisel, of Gaia Consulting.
Geisel said irrigators support clearly defined rules for water use and allocation. Rules would offer a greater assurance of water supply while curbing the risk of conflict about who gets first dibs on that supply.
