The Water Security Agency (WSA) is set to begin a $1.54 million dollar project at the Theodore Dam.
The Theodore project is part of an overall plan by the WSA to invest an all-time record $43.6 million in its water management infrastructure in 2018-19 to maintain its 69 dams and 130 kilometres (km) of conveyance channels as part of a rehabilitation and maintenance plan.
Other major capital work on provincial infrastructure includes Buffalo Pound control structure ($630,000), Eastside Pump Station ($609,000), Qu’Appelle River Dam ($808,000), and Upper Qu’Appelle conveyance channel ($754,000).
“The Theodore Dam in 2018, the plan is to do some stabilization work on the slope,” explained WSA spokesperson Patrick Boyle, adding the work will not directly impact the concrete spillway. “… It’s stabilizing the slope.”
Boyle told Yorkton This Week that over the year’s dirt shifts, and while over the years some remediation work has been done it is now time to address the situation in a more major fashion. He added with an investment of $1.54 million “there’s significant work to do.”
The project is now in the process of going to tender, said Boyle, so a start date is not yet established, although he added typically work is done later into the fall when water levels are lower.
The Theodore Dam is an area where many fish throughout the year, but Boyle said that is not likely to be an issue because of the work.
“I don’t think there’ll be too much impact to the general public,” he said.
In terms of the overall WSA programming Minister Responsible for the Water Security Agency Dustin Duncan said it is a good investment.
“Our water infrastructure across Saskatchewan is a major priority under this government, as it supports producers, recreational users, industry and the general public,” he said in a release announcing the work. “While many of these structures are decades old, they are a key priority to our economy and way of life. The proof of that priority is shown by this year’s investment, which is 15 times the amount of 10 years ago.”
Highlighting this year’s program is the ongoing rehabilitation of the M1 Canal, a 22.5 km long water supply canal extending from Lake Diefenbaker to Broderick Reservoir near Outlook. Built in the 1960s, the canal provides water for 56,000 acres of irrigation in the area, supplying water to six reservoirs, several towns and villages, four potash mines, 13 wetland projects and Blackstrap Provincial Park, detailed the release.
The 10-year rehabilitation project, now just under 80 per cent complete, aims to alleviate seepage, increase canal capacity and improve the reliability of the canal’s water supply. This fiscal year, WSA will invest $13.7 million to rehabilitate another 4.6 kms of the M-1 canal system.
“Because of its proximity to many communities, industry and local producers in the area, the M1 Canal is one of Saskatchewan’s most critical pieces of water infrastructure,” said Duncan in the release. “With this year’s planned expenditure, total investment in the M1 Canal will be more than $52 million since 2015-16.”
About $33 million of the total will be invested in maintenance of WSA’s long-standing suite of provincial dams and conveyance works. However, an additional $10 million will be invested in various projects on 20 dams previously belonging to the federal government that have been transferred to provincial control under WSA, noted the release.
“Located primarily in southwest Saskatchewan, many of these former federally-operated dams require extensive investments in upkeep including various structural work, operator safety upgrades, work to the land surrounding the sites and public safety signage. The largest single project will be $4.2 million invested in the Highfield Dam, south of Rush Lake, where embankment rehabilitation will continue and multi-year work to construct a new spillway and outlet will start,” it detailed.
