'We are short on water': Morden seeks additional source as droughts become more frequent
Morden has already declared a moderate drought stage after a dry winter so far
A southern Manitoba city that recently declared itself to be in a moderate drought stage after a drier than normal winter says it needs more funding from other levels of government if it is going to weather the continuing effects of climate change.
The mayor of Morden, a city of about 10,000 people located 100 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, said the local reservoir is already running low.
"We are short on water," Nancy Penner told CBC News during an interview at Morden city hall last week.
The entire Pembina Valley region has received less than half the amount of winter precipitation it normally would have by now, according to Manitoba Agriculture.
That has left Lake Minnewasta — the city's drinking water source — about 1.5 metres lower than it should be, putting a strain on the city's water supply.
"We do have options to pull extra water from the Pembina Valley Water Co-op," said Penner.
"We normally pull maybe three to four litres a second. Right now, we're up to seven litres a second, which does allow us to reduce the draw on the lake."
Penner has declared her city to be in a moderate drought stage — a designation that triggers a number of requests from the City of Morden to its residents under its drought plan, commissioned by the city to help it better respond to extreme drought events.
For a moderate drought, residents and businesses are asked to voluntarily conserve water. Hotels and restaurants are asked to only serve guests water on request.
"It just puts that awareness out there … 'let's be on alert,'" said Penner.
"We're getting into February, March — things can change very quickly if we get major rain events."
Penner hasn't shied away from saying the changing climate has been felt in her own backyard.
"We're seeing those extremes," she said, noting the city's severe drought in 2021, followed by flooding in 2022.
"We are situated for those extreme climate events just because of our geographic location," she said. "We are in the middle of the continent, so I think we will be seeing more extreme events with climate."
Emergency management underfunded: prof
Jack Lindsay, an associate professor in the department of applied disaster and emergency studies at Brandon University, said emergency management and mitigation aren't as well funded as they should be in Canada.
"Small rural communities do their very best with volunteers, often with no budget," he said. "But we might not be ready for the kinds of events, the tornadoes, the flooding, the droughts that we might see through climate instability."
Lindsay said Manitoba has made strides in preparing communities for emergencies.
"I would say that Manitoba Emergency Measures has turned the corner and is really pursuing some of the right directions — less response-focused and becoming more engaged in mitigation and risk reduction," said Lindsay.
"But that still needs to get, unfortunately, some teeth behind it. Right now we don't really legislate in a way that promotes mitigation or preparedness."
Penner said her community needs to find not only more water, but also more money.
"We're struggling to find the financial support to increase not only our water supply, but meet [wastewater] needs," she said. "That doesn't come without help from both the federal and provincial side with funding."
Additional water treatment capacity has been talked about in Morden for years, said Penner. Five years ago, a new mechanical plant was slated to cost $24 million. That cost is now upwards of $105 million, according to Penner.
"The surrounding area is just growing so fast that we can hardly keep up with our infrastructure needs," she said, adding that Morden cannot grow residentially or commercially unless more water is found.
Manitoba Environment and Climate Change Minister Tracy Schmidt said she is committed to working with other levels of government to build more water infrastructure.
"We are aware of the issues in Morden, and they are quite serious," Schmidt said Tuesday, adding that her department is working closely with the city.
Schmidt pointed to the province's water management strategy, which she said is currently undergoing updates intended to address current needs.
Penner hopes there won't be a repeat of 2021's severe drought.
"Everybody needs to be aware of our limited resources and everybody needs to play a part in this," she said.
She said more public education is key to getting area residents on board.
"It's important that we all become good stewards of our resources, because they are limited and they do come at a huge financial cost," said Penner.
"We all have to be aware of how much we're using and how we're using it."
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