“Water doesn’t know political boundaries,” says Joey Pankiw, manager of the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District (SRRWD), a nonprofit organization that promotes good stewardship of the 7,000 square kilometres impacted by the flow of three local rivers—the Seine, the Rat, and the Roseau. In total, the region affects 17 different municipalities.
Through its programs, the SRRWD takes protecting the local watershed very seriously.
Currently, the SRRWD receives $130,000 from its member RMs, including Niverville, Ritchot, Hanover, and Tache—and Pankiw explains that the province matches those funds. For every dollar paid by an RM, the province pays three dollars.
Last year, the organization had a $2 million operating budget. The SRRWD operates under the provincial Watersheds Districts Act.
Pankiw tries to get out to the participating RMs once a month to keep them updated on the SRRWD’s operations.
“That’s so they know where their levies are going,” says Pankiw. “It’s sort of an informational session that hopefully highlights what we’re doing within the RM… Whether we do programs in that municipality that year depends on landowner participation. If we can find landowners who want to work with us, then we’ll do projects with them.”
Pankiw made his most recent presentation to Ritchot’s council on February 19. Ritchot is the final stop before the water from this river system enters the Red River.
“Even if we don’t get to a lot of projects in [Ritchot], they’re seeing the benefits of what we’re doing with each of the watersheds,” he says. “Every one of them goes through Ritchot, except the Roseau River.”
Notably the SRRWD offers the Alternative Land Use Program, which looks to reward farmers with an annual payment for transitioning the ways in which they manage their land.
Pankiw says there is an important purpose behind transitioning low-lying cultivated land around creeks, rivers, and streams. By transforming these areas into perennial grassland, the floodplain is restored, reducing both erosion and the amount of nutrients leaching into the water.
“Ritchot is in a floodplain,” Pankiw says. “We see a lot of flooding. So anywhere water sits for a long period of time, that’s the area we’re trying to target.”
At present, 150 acres have been converted to grassland by landowners in Ritchot.
“There’s always more work we can do, but we have to start somewhere. This program has been around since 2020. We’re trying to start small… [It’s] fantastic. We’re starting to get the majority of the floodplains put back in.”
There are incentives for landowners to participate in the program. It’s just a matter of getting them to contact the organization and begin discussions.
The organization also has a well-sealing program that allows abandoned wells to be capped off to prevent surface water from ending up in the aquifer, where it can affect the drinking water. The landowner is responsible for hiring a licensed well-sealer.
“We reimburse them for the cost up to $2,000,” Pankiw says. “We try to make it easy.”
A new initiative that’s just getting started is the Prairie Watershed Climate Program. Basically, the SRRWD receives funds from the federal government to engage in agricultural activities that lower emissions from carbon.
Another program involves cover cropping, which refers to the process of leaving permanent roots in the soil year-round to prevent soil from blowing away.
Still another program involves nitrogen management, intended to reduce emissions from nitrogen. It is one of the SRRWD’s most successful programs.
There is also the rain garden program. Rainwater which flows off a roof can potentially cause water to run down into the street, but this program aims to reroute it to mend the soil.
How does it work? By establishing plants native to Manitoba, the water can be soaked up. A landowner picks what type of plants they want, then does the work and receives up to $750 funding from the SRRWD.
For public areas, rebates up to $5,000 are available, and knowledgeable staff at the SRRWD are available to assist.
Other programs address livestock management, to keep cattle out of rivers and streams, as well as soil erosion mitigation through berms and surface water management to help water flow downstream more easily and reduce flooding.
Pankiw notes that there are no fees involved to take part in these programs.
“Some projects are cost-shared,” he says. “We pay the bigger portion. There’s no cost in coming to talk to us, or us coming to your property if we can find a solution.”
He adds that the organization has no regulatory powers.
“We’re always happy to talk to developers. With all the residential development happening, more rain gardens should go in. We’re here to help with those water issues and slow the water coming down.”
