Abtshof Farms owner Alex Boersch says Manitoba’s drainage improvements have had unintended consequences for farmers downstream, which became vividly apparent after the August 20 heavy rains that brought severe flooding to his farm. With GPS-guided systems perfected over the past decade, water now flows off fields faster than ever, overwhelming rivers that can no longer handle the sudden volume.
“It would be nice if the government addressed crop insurance to reflect risk of flooding, because basically the drainage has been perfected everywhere over the last 10 years,” Boersch notes.
Most of his farmland lies at the end of the drainage system near the La Salle River, where runoff accumulates. He says water levels spike quickly, backing into fields and penalizing farmers along the river while protecting others upstream.
Rivers silting in
The problem, Boersch adds, is compounded by rivers that have gradually filled with silt and debris.
“The drainage is so good now and the rivers are all silting in so bad that they’re way shallower than they used to be, and they just can’t take that volume of water fast enough,” he says.
He points out that maintenance used to be routine, with dead trees and blockages cleared to improve flow. In recent decades, however, little has been done. Environmental restrictions now prevent dredging, a measure Boersch understands but believes is worsening the problem.
Need for a systematic plan
Boersch argues that either compensation or a new water management plan is needed.
“Well, it’s either you compensate people because of that, or the only other way to do it is that the province actually comes up with a systematic drainage plan so that they can hold back water better strategically to let each section flow out so that it doesn’t all come at once,” he adds.
The idea, he says, would involve controlling culverts to release water gradually, though such a system would be difficult to negotiate between farmers.
Widespread impacts
Boersch continues, “It’s a difficult problem, but it’s accelerated, in my opinion, through the fact that a lot of fields get tilled too much, so you get a lot of erosion when there’s big rainfalls, and then all of a sudden the rivers are quite a bit shallower than they used to be.”
He says at least five other farmers near Elie are facing similar flooding, with additional pockets of concern closer to Fannystelle and further along the La Salle River. Hutterite colonies such as Heron are also heavily impacted.
Towns vs. farms
Some efforts have been made to challenge man-made barriers, including dams built to maintain water levels through towns like Starbuck, La Salle, and Elie. Boersch says those structures may look attractive for residents but increase the risks downstream.
“There’s quite a few dams that they put up just to keep the water levels up in the towns, but they also cause the river to silt in faster and they slow down water flow,” he says.
Boersch notes that while farmers are calling for change, no coordinated plan has yet been developed. He believes crop insurance programs like Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation will eventually need to take notice, but for now, the burden falls hardest on those farming at the end of the drainage lines.
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