WAWOTA, Sask. 鈥� Lane Mountney spreads a map over his kitchen table at his farmhouse in southeast Saskatchewan, pointing to yellow and orange arrows slithering across the document.聽
Many of the arrows represent existing channels and ditches, moving across fields and out of wetlands to drain water. The arrows eventually make their way to a creek, causing what he describes as a deluge of problems downstream.聽
鈥淎ll these years, guys have gotten away with draining water and the next guy figures he can get away withit," Mountney said in an interview at his farm near Wawota, Sask., about 200 kilometres southeast of Regina.聽
鈥淚f this keeps going like it has, I don鈥檛 know what Saskatchewan鈥檚 going to look like in 10 years.鈥�
Mountney's map depicts what鈥檚 called the Wawken Drainage Project, a plan developed by the local watershed group that has since been taken over by the Water Security Agency, which is responsible for overseeing drainage in Saskatchewan.聽
The project is nearly 14 square kilometres and contains 880 wetlands of various sizes representing a total of 2.4 square kilometres of water.聽
A project document indicates that 88 per cent of these wetlands have been drained, partially drained or farmed. About 12 per cent remain intact.
Most of this water is supposed to flow into a creek that runs through a parcel of Mountney鈥檚 land.聽
The plan developers believe the creek can handle the flows, but Mountney is not convinced.聽
Last year, he and his wife, Sandra Mountney, dealt with flooding ontheir horses鈥� pasture. They decided not to use their well water at the time because it was yellow.聽
"They were very excited to tell us that nobody inside the project area is going to lose acres, but they haven鈥檛 even looked at who鈥檚 going to lose acres miles down the line." Sandra Mountney said.聽
Brent Fry, who farms grain and livestock, said it鈥檚 common for his land to flood for three days when people upstream get 50 millimetres of rain.聽
He said it has caused roads and access points to erode.
鈥淭here are about four farms out there and all they鈥檙e doing is draining whether they鈥檝e got permission or not,鈥� Fry said. "I don鈥檛 even know what to do because the government鈥檚 not doing anything 鈥� they鈥檙e siding with the big guys."
Farmers have drained water in Saskatchewan for generations and many have done so illegally by digging ditches without permits. 聽
Most producers drain because it allows them to grow more crops, helping them pay for land that has become increasingly expensive. However, it has caused yearly flooding for people downstream. Roads also wash out and habitat gets lost.
At the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention in February, reeves passed a resolution asking the Water Security Agency to require those who are illegally draining to remediate their unapproved works.聽
Saskatchewan legislation requires upstream landowners to receive permission from those downstream when they want to drain, but many say that's not happening.聽
Sandra Mountney said the Water Security Agency hasn鈥檛 been taking concerns seriously.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to know who鈥檚 really protecting our waterways,鈥� she said.
The Wawken project began about three years ago but hasn鈥檛 been completed. It鈥檚 among many drainage projects underway.
Daniel Phalen, a watershed planner, worked on the project as technician before he left for another job.聽
He said landowners had been draining water with no permits before the plan. His job was to determine how many wetlands were drained and what works had already been done.聽
Phalen said the plan was to put in structures that would slow down the drainage to reduce problems downstream.聽
It鈥檚 unclear what work had been done on the Wawken project to mitigate flows since Phalen left. The Water Security Agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Phalen said projects can get held up if affected landowners don鈥檛 come to an agreement. Expropriation is allowed but it鈥檚 rare, he said. 聽
Another nearby drainage plan, known as the Martin project, has stalled because of landowner concerns.
Researchers have estimated Saskatchewan has lost half of its total wetlands over time for crop production.聽
Phalen, who also worked on the Martin plan, said it was concerning to see the number of wetlands sucked out.聽
鈥淭he Water Security Agency doesn鈥檛 have the manpower to do much about it," Phalen said. "There鈥檚 such low enforcement already that if they had any policies in place, people would just drain anyways. It鈥檚 kind of a scary problem to be in.鈥�
Sandra Mountney said she鈥檚 worried about losing wetlands because they help recharge groundwater supplies and filter contaminants 鈥� particularly important when it's dry.聽
The Water Security Agency has released a drainage management framework that aims to prevent flooding and ensure Saskatchewan retains a 鈥渟ufficient鈥� number of wetlands.聽
Leah Clark, the Interim Executive Director of Agriculture Water Management, told attendees at a Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Association meeting earlier this year that 43 per cent of wetlands are retained within approved projects. She added the province has 鈥渢hriving鈥� wildlife populations.
However, she said under the policy, landowners would be able to select which wetlands to retain.
鈥淚t will achieve a working landscape for landowners to continue to use their land for farming and ranching. This approach will allow for new development while retaining current drainage,鈥� she said.聽
Phalen said Saskatchewan could look to Manitoba for solutions to retain wetlands.聽
Manitoba has historically drained most of its wetlands in the agricultural regions, he said, but the province has since developed a policy where landowners are paid for retaining them.聽
鈥淵ou know, $100 an acre is not a ton of money, but it鈥檚 another incentive to help producers,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a complex problem where you got this huge financial incentive to drain.鈥�
Lane Mountney said regulations just need to be enforced.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost too late,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey should have been out there checking stuff before we got this point.鈥澛�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2023.
Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press
