More real-world data needed to weigh impact of extra irrigation, says watershed group
CBC
The P.E.I. Watershed Alliance says more data gathering, research and monitoring are needed in order to understand the impacts supplemental irrigation would have on both land and water in the province.
The group presented before the provincial legislative committee on natural resources and environmental sustainability Thursday, providing recommendations for how supplemental irrigation could be approached sustainably if it was to be implemented on P.E.I.
"We have to look at this as a long-term [issue]: What are our sustainable strategies to support farming as a whole? What can we do to make that viable?" alliance chair Mike Durant asked the committee.
The P.E.I. Watershed Alliance is composed of 24 watershed groups from across the province, who work to improve and protect the environmental quality of the Island's watersheds, or areas of land where water collects and then flows out to rivers, streams, lakes or the ocean.
A healthy watershed also feeds reservoirs and groundwater to ensure Islanders have clean water for drinking and washing.
The new Water Act came into effect in June, putting an end to P.E.I.'s moratorium on new high-capacity irrigation wells after 19 years, but the government has said no new wells will be permitted until an irrigation strategy is implemented.
Durant told the committee that watershed groups have been consulted about what such a strategy might look like, but there are still many concerns.
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