At an event in Vauxhall, the province announced $19 million in funding to help update irrigation infrastructure and improve the productivity of the agriculture industry. This is an increase of $5.5 million from last year.
The Irrigation Revival Program will continue to impact irrigation-oriented producers across the province, according to Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdsson.
“This program has had a huge impact on irrigators… their irrigation systems have been modernized and efficiencies have been discovered that allow them to irrigate more land while using the same amount of water,” Sigurdsson said. Allows.”
Irrigation supports approximately 1.5 million acres of crop production in the province, producing 28 percent of provincial agricultural GDP. Walter Unruh of the Bow River Irrigation District has a good idea of where his district will spend its percentage.
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“I think the biggest impact we will have is pipelines. The pipelines we can build now will save water for us and our focus is on getting the best water savings for every pipeline we build. This means that that canal will not go out of our district and then overflow, we can keep that water and save it.
In previous years, irrigation districts had also targeted pipeline construction. 9.2 km long open canals were converted into pipelines in 2022 and this year also looks to be the same.
But according to Richard Phillips, vice-president of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association, this investment will not just be used to lay pipe.
“With use, 50-year-old infrastructure deteriorates and needs to be upgraded again,” Phillips explained. It will be there when they order it.”
It’s an ongoing financial need that Unruh thinks the province should plan for.
“I want to see it grow every year for the next ten years. “I’m saying ten, and we don’t know what may happen in the future…It could be beneficial to the district in other ways as well.”
According to Phillips, the impact of this investment will not be fully felt until next year.
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