On April 3, 100+ people with a range of interests met to input to the development of a Surface Water Management Strategy at the Canad Inn in Polo Park, Winnipeg.
Chaired by the Water Council, Jean Friesen and Rhonda McDougall of Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship steered us through the day. Keynote speakers Shannon Stunden Bower, author of 'Wet Prairie - People, Land and Water in Agricultural Manitoba' (a good historical perspective) and Danny Blair, a contributor to 'The New Normal - the Canadian Prairies in a Changing Climate', set the scene for us, and Wayne Hildebrand reminded us of what happened in the past 2 years with floods and wildfires.
It wasn't all about listening, networking and eating though and we were soon put to work to answer some key questions. The theme on my table was strongly towards education, regulation, enforcement and taxation and we called on the government to be bold and show its teeth!
Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship will be consulting over the next few months as it develops its strategy, and more information is available on its website http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/
Selena Randall
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