A board member with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society who is also an engineer and former member of the National Hydrology Research Centre wonders if the cost is worth the output for the province’s Lake Diefenbaker irrigation expansion project. The government announced the $4 billion expansion in July of 2020. At the time, Premier Scott Moe stated the project would fulfill the vision of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, irrigating up to 500-thousand acres of land, more than doubling what is available now. It would mean an expansion of food products that could be grown, like potatoes, corn, beets, cucumbers and lettuce which would help with food security.

Bob Halliday would like to see more thorough economic and environmental analysis on this project. He suggests the most valuable resource from Lake Diefenbaker is from the power generated from the water, but irrigated land can’t be run through hydroelectric turbines. He notes there are ten power stations between Lake Diefenbaker and Hudson Bay and says, “It’s an enormous power loss when you take water out of the river. There is also the environmental impact. Halliday explains that irrigation would lead to wetland loss downstream, salinization and erosion, and water from irrigation would also include nutrients and pesticides, affecting downstream wildlife and communities.

He told the audience at a Sustainability Speakers Event hosted by the Environmental Society and the Saskatoon Public Library that about 300 farmers would benefit if they all choose irrigation and invest in the equipment. Halliday equates other investments that would also equal $4 billion, like every farm in the province having solar panels installed, several thousand low income housing units added or a $5,000 EV incentive on every car in Saskatchewan.