Manitoba groups call for feds to weigh in on North Dakota water project

Groups opposing a new water-diversion project proposed by the North Dakota government say it's important to get the federal government onside right away.

The Red River Valley Water Supply Project is a plan to move water from the Missouri River to the more heavily populated areas of eastern North Dakota, which are in the Red River drainage basin.

• FROM JAN. 11, 2005: North Dakota revives 40-year-old water diversion plan

Manitoba environmental groups and the provincial government have long opposed any transfer of water from the Missouri River to the Red River basin, raising concerns about the risk of foreign biota entering the Red River, which flows north into Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg.

Beatrice Olivastri, executive director of Friends of the Earth Canada, says any large interbasin transfer of water should be referred to the International Joint Commission, a binational board that governs water issues between Canada and the United States.

Olivastri says it's time for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to show his support for Manitoba's fight against what she calls "Garrison II," after a similar water-diversion plan North Dakota proposed in the 1960s.

"One of the things we have to do is make sure the federal government is activated on the Garrison II issue immediately," she told CBC News.

"With a new government in place, I think that citizens of Manitoba need to be very clear in saying to their representatives that it's time to look at formulating a request for a reference to the IJC to deal with Garrison II."

Friends of the Earth, the Council for Canadians and a provincial government Water Stewardship official were panellists at a forum on the issue held Tuesday night at Winnipeg's Millennium Library.

The group plans to travel to North Dakota Wednesday to make presentations at a state forum examining the Red River Valley Water Supply Project.