Integrated Surface Water Management workshop

On July 6, 2012, we hosted a workshop for some 40+ farm producers, farm extension staff and provincial and federal regulators to tell them about a research project that is nearing completion.

This project has been supported by Deerwood Soil and Water Management, and funded through MRAC, and was a short-term feasibility study to look at the options for storing water on-farm and reusing it to grow crops or biomass. The main work was done by Hank Venama's team at IISD with the support of myself and David Lobb from the Watershed System Research Program.

The purpose of the day was to inform everyone of progress with the project, and to seek their input into the next steps. We did this with the help of Sheldon McLeod who helped facilitate the day making my job so much easier.

Les McEwan from Deerwood started the day off by giving some background, and then David Lobb introduced the concepts that had gone into the project. Hank Venema then took us through the process his team had followed, introduced the models they had built and the results.

Then we broke into facilitated groups. I had allocated people to work on particular issues. So the 'technical' group looked at the models more closely and commented on the inputs, assumptions and outputs. Two 'implementation' groups of mainly farm producers considered the practical issues of the different scenarios explored and put forward their ideas for the next steps. The 'enabling' group considered the policy issues that might impact the implementation of the ideas.

Over lunch the group scribes fed back to me, and I wrote up the feedback to weave into a presentation on the next phase ie what happens after the project finishes, what the plans are for further research, funding timescales etc.

The venue was great - we were in the ambassoador suite at the Radisson with windows and a balcony view over the city. Shame we had had a big thunder storm that had taken out the servers to the big screens we planned to use to demonstrate a new concept - a decision theatre. However, using small screens the technical group was able to give some feedback.

We got a lot out of the day - lots of ideas and a good feel that the research is delivering what farmers, extension staff and policy makers and regulators want to see.

Now I just have to write the report!

Selena Randall