reservoir

Wet winter needed to feed next years' crops, say Alberta irrigators amid early water shut-off

Wet winter needed to feed next years' crops, say Alberta irrigators amid early water shut-off

Lake Newell, a reservoir south of Brooks, Alta. that helps feed water to farmland as well as various municipal, industrial, wildlife and recreational areas, is less than half the level it should be heading into winter. The lake is a part of the Eastern Irrigation District (EID), an area east of Calgary bound by the Red Deer river to the north, and the Bow River to the south. On Sept. 25, EID shut down its irrigation season roughly two weeks ahead of when it normally would, due to dry conditions throughout the summer that have strained water supply. 

Rural 44 Pipeline Utility Project complete

Rural 44 Pipeline Utility Project complete

Construction of the project began in May of 2021. The project included twinning a portion of the EK Raw Water line, building a Rural 44 Water Pipeline Utility (R44WPU) reservoir and pumphouse, upgrading the Town of Eston water treatment plant, and installing more than 300 km of water distribution line. All this work was completed by March 2023.

Are the reservoir dog days ending?

Are the reservoir dog days ending?

In 1967, when the Gardiner Dam backed up the South Saskatchewan River to create the 200-km-long Lake Diefenbaker in the middle of Saskatchewan, the plan was to irrigate 500,000 parched acres. To this day, the giant T-shaped lake — named after Saskatchewan politician and Canada’s 13th Prime Minister, John George Diefenbaker — irrigates only 100,000 to 150,000 acres. “The Dief” is, one might say, an untapped resource, a ’60s-era feat of engineering stuck in vaporization mode. (It is said the lake loses more water to evaporation each year than it gives up for crop watering.)

Drained: Sask. rancher’s land ‘dying’ without water from reservoir

Drained: Sask. rancher’s land ‘dying’ without water from reservoir

On his ranch, Doug Wilson walks past an old abandoned three-storey home and stands at the bank of what had once been the flowing Maple Creek. The creek is dry again this year as brittle, dead tree debris litters the edges. Grass is growing where, at one time, water would have normally passed by. “Over the last 20 years we’ve seen a huge amount of tree loss,” Wilson said earlier this summer near the southwest Saskatchewan town. “It’s dying. The whole area is dying.” Wilson relies on the water to feed his cattle. It represents his livelihood and helps him survive. But over the last few years, he’s had to reduce his herd size from 600 cattle to 400. He’s also had to pay for someone else’s feed because he’s been short on water.

'You are not forgotten': Outpouring of support for Neskantaga First Nation

'You are not forgotten': Outpouring of support for Neskantaga First Nation

Students plan to launch a second letter-writing campaign in the new year addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller calling for clean running water for First Nations communities. The letter campaign is called "We haven't forgotten you," said Frank Pio, the school board's Indigenous education teacher. "It's really unfair that they don't get safe water to drink," Comazzi said.

Building trust in its tap water will be Neskantaga’s next big challenge

Building trust in its tap water will be Neskantaga’s next big challenge

The chief of the First Nation in Northern Ontario that has suffered through the country’s longest continuous boil water advisory is hopeful that water coming out of the taps in the homes of Neskantaga will be safe to drink sometime in early 2021. The question now is: Even if public health and First Nation officials pronounce the water safe to drink, will anyone trust in the purity of what comes out of their taps?

Stz’uminus First Nation reservoir loses 500,000 litres due to damaged fire hydrant

Stz’uminus First Nation reservoir loses 500,000 litres due to damaged fire hydrant

The Stz’uminus First Nation reservoir has lost 500,000 litres of water after a damaged fire hydrant was discovered in the Shell Beach area of Stz’uminus. Due to the water loss, Stz’uminus does not have enough water in the reservoir to safely fight a fire if one broke out. Local fire departments are on standby with pumper trucks in the event of a fire. In a press release, Stz’uminus said that 33 truckloads of water will be brought in to help refill the reservoir at ‘significant cost’.

Indigenous services minister overrules senior bureaucrat on Neskantaga water probe

Indigenous services minister overrules senior bureaucrat on Neskantaga water probe

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller has overruled a senior departmental official over the framing of an investigation into Neskantaga First Nation's 25-year-long water crisis, CBC News has learned. Anne Scotton, the department's Ontario regional director general, informed Neskantaga Chief Chris Moonias on Thursday afternoon by email that the terms of reference for the investigation would be finalized soon, and that a consultant had been chosen to manage the third-party probe. There was a line in the attached document for the chief's signature.

Ottawa to probe contractors hired to fix longest-standing boil water advisory

Ottawa to probe contractors hired to fix longest-standing boil water advisory

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller is preparing to launch a third-party investigation into the business practices of consultants and engineering companies hired to end Canada's longest-standing boil water advisory — a probe that could extend to other communities, CBC News has learned. "The problem is we have a system for delivering infrastructure that always goes with the lowest bidder," Angus said. "When you have a big-ticket item, like a water plant that's very expensive to build in a community, costs and corners get cut and that's the danger. Neskantaga has been a nightmare situation."