REGINA – After months of urging the province to reconsider its proposal to bring water downstream into Last Mountain Lake, residents and First Nations groups are breathing a sigh of relief.
Thursday morning, the environment ministry announced it is scrapping the plan to divert water away from the overflowing Quill Lakes.
It’s news Janis Campbell is celebrating.
“I was over the top! I was so relieved,” she said.
The long-time Last Mountain Lake resident wants to preserve the quality of water in her back yard.
“This is my home. This is my safe place. The people out here matter to me. The economy matters and of course the heritage. The legacy I want to leave for my children, my grandchildren and my great grandchildren,” Campbell said.
She’s been actively opposed to the government’s proposal to prevent more water from going into the saline Quill Lakes and re-direct it to Last Mountain Lake.
Her concern is that the water in the Kutawagan Creek has a higher salinity than what is currently in her lake.
“Their solution shouldn’t become our problem in that we lose our fish population, we lose our bird population,” Campbell said.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations expressed similar fears about the project. All the public backlash eventually compelled the province to quash the idea.
“It was just not a good solution, not a good project. We’re certainly happy with the decision to halt it,” said FSIN Vice Chief Bobby Cameron.
Environment Minister Herb Cox said those affected made their voice heard loud and clear.
“Over 500 people came to the consultations and public meetings. A high percentage of them, over 74 per cent, although they weren’t opposed to the project, they didn’t approve of it,” said Cox.
Other issues also played a role in the decision not to move forward with the water diversion.
“The costs did come in higher than anticipated, certainly that was part of it. And we weren’t able to get the environmental assessment done,” said Cox.
But the problem isn’t going away. Since 2005 the water levels in the Quill Lakes have risen 6.5 metres. The Water Security Agency said if they rise another metre, they’ll start spilling over into other water bodies and travelling downstream to places like Last Mountain Lake.
There’s a number of ways the province could choose to deal with the problem.
“Drain that lake similar to how they drain tailing ponds for potash and oil,” suggested Campbell.
WSA President Wayne Dybvig said others have talked about planting trees around the Quill Lakes to drink up water.
Another idea?
“There was the suggestion brought up about deep oil injection, similar to what potash mines do with saline water. We are looking at that in more detail,” Dybvig said.
All kinds of options remain on the table at this point, but Cox and Dybvig said this time, the public will be more involved in the process.
“We’ll want to consult with people on all the alternatives to ensure that people understand the impacts,” Dybvig explained.
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