Water was the main topic of a recent forum in Midale.
On Jan. 23, approximately 75 citizens of Midale and surrounding areas met at the Harry O Memorial Civic Centre in Midale. The purpose of the water user stakeholder forum, organized and co-hosted by the Town of Midale and Saskatchewan Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Enterprise Region, was to give local and regional stakeholders an opportunity to learn more about how water quality and quantity affects their livelihood as well as learning more about regional water systems in Saskatchewan.
Many people in attendance were there for self-interest but villages, rural municipalities, farmers, country residential property owners, industry representatives and Midale residents were also on hand.
Local farmer Colin Rosengren pointed out that "lack of treated water is a common problem for farmers and all communities in the area - this problem is definitely limiting development."
RM of Cymri Reeve Joe Vilcu said, "from an RM perspective, we are very interested in the concept of a regional water system and I suppose the next step would be to form a steering committee that could investigate water source options and stakeholder participation in the general area."
The Town of Midale, neighbouring municipalities and rural property owners are currently facing, or could be facing in the very near future, shortage of good quality water for residential, commercial and industrial development.
Due to the demand for economic development and population growth in the general Midale area, many municipal systems have reached capacity and can no longer accommodate growth.
Midale Mayor Allen Hauglum feels the time has come for communities in the Midale area to collaborate in assessing their options regarding quality and quantity of water supply needed for long term sustainability and growth.
Speakers for the event, Colin Sheldon, chairman, and Roz Arndt, administrator, of Saskatchewan Association of Rural Water Pipelines Inc., used a PowerPoint presentation to explain the purpose and role of Saskatchewan Association of Rural Water Pipelines. Jim Daschle, from Agri-Environment Services Branch of AESB (formerly PFRA), provided an overview of the process required to create and administer a regional water system.
Duschle has many years experience in providing technical assistance for watershed groups, agri-environment group plans, regional water supply projects and on-farm water supply projects.
Speakers stressed the importance of good quality water in sustaining and growing the local economy, including agriculture as well as other industries and residential development.
Dwayne Carlson, a village councillor in Halbrite said, "the regional water system is a solid idea - all communities need to get on board and get it done."
