HUMBOLDT, Sask. – Saskatchewan will need to spend more money to renew its aging water infrastructure, says provincial environment minister Dustin Duncan.
However, the government is unlikely to provide funding for major water infrastructure projects until it develops a comprehensive water management strategy, he added.
Work on the strategy has begun but it is not likely to finished until mid-2012 at the earliest.
“We continue to invest in renewing our water infrastructure, but I note that we will need to increase this investment to fully renew our aging infrastructure,” said Duncan, who attended the Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds conference in Humboldt last week.
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“The (Saskatchewan) Watershed Authority will continue to do its regular maintenance work where it needs to, but any new infrastructure projects, any new builds, I don’t envision any of these taking place until after the water strategy is completed, until we get a sense of where we’re going with an overall water management plan in the province.”
Work on a provincial water strategy began last fall when the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds and Ducks Unlimited hosted a provincial forum on water.
The forum was aimed at identifying critical water issues and bringing them to the attention of Saskatchewan’s political leaders.
Priority issues for the 58 organizations taking part in the forum included water consumption, allocation, irrigation, industrial use, future needs, infrastructure and threats to water quality.
The forum produced a report that was presented to Duncan last November. It encouraged the province to develop a comprehensive water strategy and emphasized the need for broad public consultations.
It also recommended the appointment of a water management secretariat to oversee the process.
The province has since hired a consultant who will be in charge of seeking input and drafting a plan.
Duncan said last week that public consultations would likely take place throughout 2011.
Mark Cooper, a policy expert with SUMA, said he was pleased to hear that the province was taking steps to develop a water management strategy.
However, he expressed concern that the government is taking tight control of the process.
“There sees to be some resistance to allowing partners to engage in sharing in the decision making,” said Cooper.
“My understanding so far of the consultation process is that it’s through invitation only, that it’s limited to a select group … so we’re not going to get … the broad based perspective that’s really necessary to form a truly comprehensive water management strategy.”
Cooper also suggested that the government’s timeline for completing the strategy may be too ambitious.
“It’s important to get done, but it’s also important to get done right.”
Duncan said progress on the water strategy would not affect short-term spending that is needed to address immediate water concerns.
“The intent of the water strategy is to develop a long-term plan,” he said.
“We know we have some shorter-term needs … and that’s why we’ve already announced the $22 million (flood damage reduction) program (FDRP).”
Duncan said the FDRP has received almost 600 applications this spring and money is still available.
“It’s not fully allocated yet. We feel there is still some money available in that $22 million pot. If we go over that, we’ll have to make a decision to add to it, but I can’t see us not approving somebody because we’re out of the $22 million.”
Duncan also announced that the watershed authority would increase its annual grant to regional watershed groups by $100,000.
