By Alice McFarlane

Saskatchewan irrigation districts receive money for improvements

Mar 13, 2024 | 12:17 PM

Irrigation allows more diverse crops to be grown, increases the number of livestock that can be supported and stabilizes crop production with a consistent source of moisture.

The Saskatchewan Government is providing roughly $19 million to six irrigation districts for improvements to pumps, pipes, canals and water management infrastructure for Saskatchewan irrigation districts.

Agriculture Minister David Marit said more than 55,000 acres of irrigation were developed between 2020 and 2023.

“This investment will help keep this infrastructure working and help our producers for years to come,” Marit said. “These funding agreements will also help us reach our Growth Plan target of 45 million metric tonnes of crop produced by 2030.”

Irrigation Saskatchewan co-chair Aaron Gray said the money will go a long way to ensuring the continued success of irrigation projects.

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“The future of our agriculture industry and producers is closely tied to water resource management, and infrastructure management is critical to our ongoing efforts to meet those long-term needs,” Gray said.

The six irrigation districts that will receive money through the Irrigation Rehabilitation Program are:

• Luck Lake Irrigation District – $3.8 million over five years.
• South Saskatchewan Irrigation District – $9.5 million over five years.
• Riverhurst Irrigation District – $3.8 million over five years.
• Moon Lake Irrigation District – $159,005 over five years.
• Grainland Lake District – $441,180 over five years.
• Miry Creek Irrigation District – $153,710 over five years.

The Miry Creek Irrigation District will also receive a one-time payment of $1.3 million to repair the water intake portion of their pumping system as part of the asset transfer agreement.

Luck Lake Irrigation District, South Saskatchewan Irrigation District, Riverhurst Irrigation District, and Moon Lake Irrigation District were previously part of five-year funding agreements.

—

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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