WHEREAS flooding in 2011 – 2012 and several other years in the recent past has caused major financial expenditures on the part of the Provincial Government and the residents of the province; and

WHEREAS one of the causes of this damage was the inability of water to travel down water courses that have been silted in and overgrown; and

WHEREAS these water ways need to be maintained in order to be functional;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the Provincial Government to encourage the formation of more watershed associations to assist neighboring municipalities and farmers to cooperate in maintaining the functionality of water runs and implement long-term flood control strategies.

Response from Honourable Ken Cheveldayoff, Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Water Security Agency:

Our government certainly supports this resolution. Over the past few years the Water Security Agency (WSA) has worked with municipalities to create two new Watershed Associations (Lake Roy and Opimihaw), and the WSA is currently in the final phase of facilitating the establishment of the Wallace Creek Watershed Association in east central Saskatchewan. Watershed Associations provide an effective mechanism for two or more local governments to work together to address water management issues. I appreciate the recognition by the rural municipalities of the importance of watershed associations as evidenced by the support displayed at the recent SARM convention.