IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF A SOLUTION?

PARCS UPDATE #186

June 30, 2022

https://www.skparcs.com

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For the past several years, environmental groups have been calling on the Saskatchewan government to make a policy that will manage the drainage of wetlands that threaten our lakes. Here is a recent example:

HERE'S THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF WETLANDS THREATENING OUR LAKES

The Saskatchewan Alliance for Water Sustainability (SAWS) is sounding the alarm that after years of drought, water levels at the Quill Lakes are once again rising and flooding farmland.

There is significant illegal drainage into the Quill Lakes and it continues to be unregulated and uncontrolled by the Water Security Agency (WSA). Despite a WSA moratorium on drainage since 2016 and promises to regulate wetland drainage, it has continued uncontrolled and unenforced. In 2018 and again in 2021 the provincial auditor pointed out to WSA that it needs to actively search for unapproved wetland drainage.

Because the Quill Lakes has no natural outlet, it is at very high risk of flooding and gains made by farmers draining wetlands upstream come at a loss to those farmers downstream at the lakes. According to reports, about 90,000 acres of farmland and pastureland have been lost with some 50 farms flooded.

This year so far, the Quill Lakes has risen almost two feet, and they continue to rise, flooding almost 15,000 acres of farmland. SAWS is very concerned that as long as wetland drainage continues unregulated and uncontrolled, that once the drought is over, the lakes could rise even higher eventually spilling their banks and sending salt water from the Quill Lakes into Last Mountain Lake. Adding salt water to Last Mountain Lake would be devastating.

Wetlands are important because they store water and prevent flooding and they fight climate change by storing carbon. Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada that does not protect wetlands.

Submitted to the Regina Leader Post, June 28, 2022 by Murray Steffenson

Steffenson is a member of the Saskatchewan Alliance for Water Sustainability.

HERE'S AN INVITATION THAT WAS JUST RECENTLY RECEIVED BY OUR PARCS PRESIDENT

Good afternoon,

Please save the date to participate in the Water Security Agency’s (WSA) first Agricultural Water Management Mitigation Policy Engagement session.

WSA values the essential contributions of Saskatchewan’s agricultural producers, municipalities, environmental and conservation groups, industry, Indigenous people, and research community in shaping its programs and policies. WSA is launching an engagement process in July 2022 to inform development of a made-in-Saskatchewan Agricultural Water Management Mitigation Policy.

We are inviting you, or a representative from your organization, to attend either of these plenaries in person:

July 25, 2022, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Atlas Hotel, Regina
July 27, 2022, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Travelodge Hotel, Saskatoon

These plenaries will set the stage for an ongoing engagement until development of a mitigation policy in fall 2023. During the plenaries, we will share our timelines for developing this policy. We will also invite you to share your perspectives on some of the conceptual components, as well as what you think are the general considerations as we develop a mitigation policy and its associated implementation tools. The agenda and engagement materials will be provided prior to these events.

We are looking to your organization to have one representative participate in one of these plenaries. Your perspectives and expertise are important to ensuring that we get this made-in-Saskatchewan approach right.

Please RSVP by responding to this email by July 15, 2022, identifying the name of your organization’s representative and the date that you will attend. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Corie White,

Senior Manager, Program Advancement Section

Water Security Agency

At our PARCS CONVENTION on OCT. 16/17 we will open with a Panel Presentation featuring speakers from many of the Environmental Associations in Saskatchewan. They will be addressing the issue of "Wetlands and our Lakes".

The final plans and registration forms for our Convention

will go out to you later in July.