WC138 SeptOct 2024 - Flipbook - Page 10
LEGAL
Navigating the Waters
The project will more than doubles the existing
irrigable land in the province, but has raised numerous
environmental concerns, including water quality.
BY SEAN BRYDEN AND KRISTEN WARD
N JULY 2020, Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan
announced the province’s largest infrastructure project in
history; a three-stage, $4-billion generational project to irrigate 500,000 acres of land in central and south Saskatchewan
from Lake Diefenbaker. While large-scale irrigation has the
potential to provide numerous benefits to the province, there
are many environmental risks, including concerns surrounding
drinking water. This article explores the details of the upcoming
irrigation projects, the environmental risks of the project, and the
current solutions being discussed to protect drinking water.
I
Sean Bryden
is a partner with
Miller Thomson LLP in
Saskatchewan. His practice
focuses on commercial and
agricultural financing.
Kristen Ward
is a summer intern at Miller
Thomson LLP in Saskatoon.
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Project background
Lake Diefenbaker is the largest lake in southern Saskatchewan,
created by the Qu’Appelle River Dam, which controls flows in the
Qu’Appelle River, and the Gardiner Dam, one of the largest earth
filled dams in the world, which controls flows in the South Saskatchewan River. The reservoir officially opened in 1967, and in
addition to being a major recreation facility, it provides domestic
water for approximately 60 per cent of Saskatchewan residents,
water for irrigation of approximately 110,000 acres of land, and
186 megawatts of hydroelectric power.
When the reservoir was first constructed, a network of irrigation
canals stemming from the dams were planned, but construction
was abandoned with a change in government. Now, the SaskParty
wants to fulfill the original vision, with construction scheduled to
begin in 2025 and to be completed over the next 10 years.
Phase I will start with the Westside Irrigation Project, which
involves rehabilitating the existing canals to create an additional
90,000 acres of land irrigated by water from Lake Diefenbaker.
Phase II will see a further expansion of the Westside Irrigation
Project with the buildout of new canals northwest of Lake Diefenbaker, adding an additional 260,000 acres of irrigable land and
sending water as far north as Asquith, which is directly to the west
of Saskatoon.
The final part of the project, Phase III, will see the development of the Qu’Appelle South Water Conveyance Project, adding
an estimated 120,000 acres of irrigable land to south central
WATER C AN ADA • SEP TEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
