For famers near the Quill Lakes, flooding has been an ongoing concern in the region. A proposed diversion channel to Last Mountain Lake is seen as a way to remove excess surface water, but it is facing opposition downstream.
Aura Lee MacPherson of the Saskatchewan Alliance for Water Sustainability (SAWS) organized a meeting and pipe ceremony in Fort Qu’Appelle Monday to discuss concerns amongst downstream residents, who feel left out of the discussion.
“The department of environment is not having an environmental impact assessment (EIA),” MacPherson said.
“We’re very concerned about the salinity of the Quill Lakes coming into the Qu’Appelle. There’s talk it will be fresh water, but the water is running through Kutawagen and Pells and those lakes are just as salty as big Quill.”
The environment ministry sent a letter to the proponent, Quill Lakes Watershed Assocaition (QLWA) on September 8 outlining why there is no need for an EIA.
The ministry determined the project does not fit the criteria of a development because it will not create pollutants or by-products and the QWLA’s previous discussions with stakeholders in the immediate area and downstream.
READ MORE: Sask. Water Security Agency moves to stop unapproved drainage into Quill Lakes
Still, residents like MacPherson want to have greater consultation based on past negative experiences with regulators.
Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said there has been no decision made yet on whether QWLA will receive a permit to construct the channel. The ministry outlined 12 conditions the proponent must meet before a permit is issued.
These conditions include ensuring channel drainage is done in a way where significant downstream impacts are avoided, disturbed native grasslands are reclaimed and appropriate sediment and erosion control measures are installed.
Duncan said that there has been miscommunication about the nature of the project.
“Unfortunately there’s a rumor out there that this in fact would be a drainage or diversion project that would drain the Quill Lakes. That’s not the case,” Duncan said.
“What we’re trying to do is limit the amount of ground water, fresh water that is going into the Quill Lakes, therefore helping to keep the levels stabilized.”
The ministry’s Sept. 8 letter to QWLA says the channel would be used to divert seven million cubic metres of surface water.
Still, MacPherson said her group does not trust the process that has been put in place. That’s why they’re demanding an EIA.
“At the end of the day, the Water Security Agency is not going to recommend or approve a project that is going to approve a project that is going to be harmful to downstream stakeholder concerns,” Duncan said.
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