Agricultural Drainage Stewardship Conference – Weyburn
On Wednesday, December 4, about 115 farmers, R.M. representatives, members of watershed groups, and
industry personnel made their way to Weyburn for the Agricultural Drainage Stewardship Conference.
The conference room was full for this information packed day organized by the Moose Jaw River
Watershed Stewards (MJRWS), Upper Souris Watershed (USWA) and Lower Souris Watershed (LSWC)
Committees. It was time to bring the taboo topic of agricultural drainage out in the open and start talking
about drainage policies, how to reduce the impacts of drainage on waterbodies, successful multi-producer
projects, technology, and more.
Bridget Andrews and Wade Hickey (MJRWS) welcomed everyone and thanked the Lower Souris and
Upper Souris Watershed Groups for their help in organizing the conference and the Water Security
Agency (WSA) for technical support.
Doug Johnson, WSA, started the day talked about the history of drainage in Saskatchewan, the process of
obtaining drainage permits, and how WSA handles drainage complaints. He said that approved projects
have value for the landowner. He discussed the role of local watershed groups as working proactively on
drainage issues.
Julie MacKenzie, Prairie Consultants, then presented on managing agricultural drainage to reduce
impacts to receiving water bodies. She emphasized the importance of maintaining a meandering grassed
waterway with a wide flat bottom as being most beneficial to receiving water. She left everyone with some
things to think about such as “have you ever seen where your water drains?”, “What is your goal? – to
have crop on the full 160 acres OR to gain the most net profit possible on that 160 acres?” and “How
much is this dirt worth? – where it sits now or where it used to be?”
Following a short coffee break, Chris Unrau of Precision Land Solutions talked about water management
and tile drainage. He outlined some benefits of tile drainage such as more timely field operations,
improved yields, increased land value, reduced surface runoff, improved soil health, better soil structure
and reduced fossil fuel consumption. Although they are not operating in Saskatchewan yet, it is in the
works.
Bridget Andrews (MJRWS) and Charlie Templeton (Chairman of the Okabena C&D) then discussed the
Okabena Multi-Producer pilot project near Rouleau. The goals of this project was to work with local
producers to reduce sedimentation and erosion of the Okabena drainage area along the Moose Jaw River,
improve water quality, safety, and demonstrate to urban residents that agricultural producers are
stewards of the land. The landowners in this area applied for funding through the Canada-Saskatchewan
Farm Stewardship Program. Construction was completed late in 2012 and they are already seeing some
benefits of this project. Charlie emphasized that communication is the key to everything, feels that C&D’s
are a good way to tie communities together again, and that it is important to learn where your water goes.
Following lunch, John Kindrachuk (North Saskatchewan Watershed Co-ordinator) talked about the Land
Infrastructure Resiliency Analysis Project (LIRA). LIRA is a process of collecting data to analyze
Following lunch, John Kindrachuk (North Saskatchewan Watershed Co-ordinator) talked about the Land
Infrastructure Resiliency Analysis Project (LIRA) in the Redberry Lake and Assiniboine Lake area. LIRA
is a process of collecting data to assess risk to natural disasters such as flooding in order to be prepared
for emergencies.
Nathalie Brunet (WSA) discussed the impacts of agricultural drainage on water quality and quantity.
Through her master’s thesis study, she found that drained wetlands are most similar to cropped seasonal
wetlands and have the highest nutrient export potential when drained.
Sheldon Kyle (LWSC) then wrapped up the day outlining the key points from each speaker and
emphasized the importance of communicating your project ideas and goals with family and neighbors,
keep the big picture in mind when planning your project, and that resources spent today will increase in
value.
Following a surprise presentation from Bridget Andrews to Etienne Soulodre (WSA) for all of his hard
work helping out a number of watershed groups for many years, Wade introduced the Honorable
Minister Ken Cheveldayoff. Minister Cheveldayoff was happy to see such a great crowd out for this event
and thanked the organizers of the conference. He outlined the 7 goals of the 25 year Water Security
Strategic Plan. He is excited about locally led initiatives and the important roles that watershed groups
play in water management and in promoting beneficial management practices.
This Agricultural Drainage Stewardship Conference was a great starting point in the right direction in
getting farmers, legislators, industry, and watershed groups in the same room to discuss the topic of
drainage. Everyone recognizes that drainage occurs across the province, but it can be done in a more
environmentally friendly way with less impact on downstream neighbors.