The Saskatchewan government is moving ahead on phase one of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project, the cost of which has doubled after four years waiting in vain for federal help.Premier Scott Moe made the announcement in a speech Thursday to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities’ (SARM) annual convention in Regina. "Decades ago, Lake Diefenbaker was built with a specific intention to increase irrigation in this province and until now, I would say that dream has not been fully realized," Moe said.The Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project was proposed in 2020 as a project to be jointly funded by the province and Ottawa. SARM has lobbied for the project since the beginning and asked last month when shovels will be hitting dirt.The province asked the Canada Infrastructure Bank for a joint-funding agreement, so far without success.“Its important for us to get started and we were hopeful that we would have a federal partner in starting this project,” Moe said.“We cannot wait for the federal government and so we’re going to move forward on our own.”In 2020, the 900,000-acre multi-phase project was projected at $4 billion. Although phase 1 was initially expected to cost $500 million, Moe said the first phase would now cost $1.15 billion. Moe said the initial “rough estimate” put forward by engineers is likely “substantially more” given inflation of the last four years.The province is moving into active planning for Phase 1 beginning immediately, with construction targeted for 2025, to build out the canal expansion of the Westside project. The engineering, design and engagement with stakeholders and indigenous rights holders is expected to be done over the next 12 to 14 months, with major construction of the 90,000 acres being targetted for 2025.Phase 2 would build irrigation capacity at Westside and Phase 3 to the Qu’Appelle South Irrigation Project.The project is expected to raise crop values, food and water security, and “buffers us from some of the weather changes we’ve seen,” said Moe.“There’s an opportunity for us, rather than do all four phases at once and experience that entire cost at once, to actually build the industry, literally acre by acre.”Costs will be shared between the province and individual producers who take part. It's not yet clear how those shares will be divided.“We’re going to have funds allocated as we go along,” Moe said. “The important thing was to get the project started and then as producers come online, we’ll have a formula ready.”Moe invited SARM members to come forward with any “infill acres” that could add to the project and said the province would continue to seek federal help. One day prior, the province announced $19 million would be made available to six other existing irrigation districts for infrastructure maintenance. Since 2020, more than 58,000 acres of irrigation have been developed, which is the largest growth since the early 1980s. SARM president Ray Orb welcomed the move.“Today marks an important point in our history for rural municipalities, SARM applauds the provincial government for moving this project ahead and ensuring future generations of rural residents will experience the benefits,” Orb said.“This is the start of a journey to bring Saskatchewan and Canada much-needed food and economic security.”
