The Little Red River has overflowed its banks, and put some farmland under water. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

High water leads to lost income

Farmers along Little Red River lose out to high water

Jun 29, 2024 | 7:00 AM

A group of farmers along the Spruce (AKA Little Red) River is questioning how water levels are being managed, starting at Anglin Lake and running all the way to the North Saskatchewan River.

At least two sections of farmland along the Pulp Haul Road north of Prince Albert are currently covered with water and some of the farmers said they were told what happened in 2013 would not happen again – but it has.

“The information that we were told at that time was is that this was a once in a lifetime event. And you know, it’ll never happen again. Well, here we are not, you know, 9-10 years later and it’s happening again,” said Adam Mazurkewich.

He estimates between 50 and 60 farmers or landowners along the river are being impacted by the high water levels.

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It’s not the never-ending rainfall that they are questioning – it’s why the Water Security Agency can’t keep the levels lower on Anglin Lake so that it can accommodate more rainfall.

“I can see why they wanted to let water out because it was full. But if that’s the case, they should be maintaining that lake at a lower level,” he said.

The WSA said that an advisory issued on June 19 was in response to a weather event.

“Essentially, major storm event with a three-inch rain in a short period caused these impacts. WSA held the reservoir as high as possible and provided as much protection as possible as a result,” said the agency in an emailed response.

The amount of water going into the lake was twice as much as what they allowed out.

For the impacted farmers, however, there is more to the problem than that.

Using a rough average of $300 for every acre of crop lost, two sections of land would be $375,000. However, the group of farmers said they would be very surprised if they were be able to farm the land next year either.

They also ask what the plan is for the future as sudden heavy rainfalls are predicted to increase with climate change.

“That’s the thing we get more catastrophic events or if we ever get six inches of rain in an hour, which seems to be more common and common as the years have come on here.

I mean, they’re going to run into real trouble up there and it’s just going to be worse than it is even now. Like, I mean, it’s bad now, but it’s going to be worse,” he said.

Crop insurance has specific guidelines and isn’t meant to cover flooding and, at best, covers expenses but does not fully replace lost revenue.

For the farmers along the river, they would like some tangible long-term plan that considers the potential for more frequent flooding caused by more frequent extreme weather events. And they would like the province to take some financial responsibility for their lost income.

“Me and my neighbors are frustrated because this is our livelihoods. Like this is how we pay our bills. This is how we feed our families. This is how we make our living; you know?” said Mazurkewich. “There’s no compensation or programs put in place when it does happen, there’s no responsibility taken.”