REGINA — An extensive Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project will undergo a provincial environmental assessment.
The Water Security Agency has announced it is self-declaring the Westside Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (WIRP) for scrutiny.
Baseline data collection and the planning and design work will go into a proposal, which is then submitted to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. Collecting feedback with rights holders and stakeholders through various engagements will help incorporate their input into the design of the project as part of the environmental assessment, says Saskatchewan Environment.
Announced in July 2024, the planning and engineering design work for WIRP is being worked on by Prairie Engineering Partners, a joint venture from Stantec and MPE engineering firms. Baseline work was commissioned as part of the environmental assessment field work for both aquatic and terrestrial components, including water quality and quantity.
WIRP has the potential to add 100,000 acres of irrigated land. A recent analysis of the 100,000-acre project was done by KPMG LLP. According to PMG LLP, an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) of $5.9 billion while generating over 30,000 jobs (person years of employment) and 9,500 jobs during the construction phase.
