The Saskatchewan provincial government has announced that it will begin working on a long-term irrigation project of Lake Diefenbaker, which will aim to double the province’s irrigable land.
The $4 billion project is expected to take up to a decade, and create a new source of fresh water for the Moose Jaw-Regina corridor. This will provide a boost for the area’s agricultural fortunes. The project will consist of three phases, beginning immediately with the Westside Irrigation Project that will revitalize and expand the existing Westside canals. Phase two will add an additional 260,000 acres, while phase three will see work directly done in the Moose Jaw region.
The opening phase will see the Qu’Appelle South Irrigation Project built out to include an estimated 120,000 acres of land, running from Lake Diefenbaker to Buffalo Pound Lake. The Saskatchewan government has promised consultations with local communities, Indigenous groups, and other stakeholders.
Government projects like this typically use tools like flyer printing to inform residents of upcoming consultations, benefits of the development, and potential disruption to travel and other routines. In addition to providing support for agricultural and industrial work, the project will also act as economic stimulus by providing jobs.
The Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project was officially launched on July 2, and is expected to run throughout the 2020s, with the Moose Jaw leg of the project occurring later in the decade.
