The Wilderness Committee is urging the provincial government to reject a plan to drain Whitewater Lake

WINNIPEG - The Wilderness Committee is calling on Sustainable Development Minister Cathy Cox to reject a call by the municipalities of Boissevain-Morton and Deloraine Winchester to drain down Whitewater Lake to prevent farmland flooding. Whitewater is a terminal lake rich in wildlife in southwest Manitoba.

“Whitewater Lake is a rare and incredible hotspot for birds and biological diversity in southwestern Manitoba, and we just can't mess with this natural wonder,” said Eric Reder, Manitoba Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee.

Two rural municipalities, Boissevain-Morton and Deloraine-Winchester, filed the request in May 2016, proposing to dig a channel to an adjacent watershed to drain down the high water, which has flooded some farmland. Whitewater Lake has no natural outflows, and water levels rise and fall based upon yearly rainfall. Although water is unusually high now, the lake has dried up completely as recently as the 1980’s.

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Summary—comments from government experts regarding this proposal—was released in August, and stated many government departments do not support this plan.

Reder stressed that, “There was virtually no public notice that this proposal was open for comment, and people were asked to comment before all the data was present, or essential expert analysis from the government TAC was available. We need projects that impact lands and waters owned by all Manitobans properly publicized, and we need to hear from our government experts before we make comment, rather than just hearing from the proponent.”

Rather than building destructive drainage, the Wilderness Committee believes the provincial government should purchase the flood-prone farmland and add it to the protected Whitewater Lake Wildlife Management Area, thereby relieving local farm concerns and adding to Manitoba’s protected lands and waters.

“Natural variations in water levels keep this lake region as biologically rich as it is,” said Reder. “There is no scientific support for artificially controlling the water level of this fragile ecosystem.”

The Wilderness Committee is calling on the Manitoba government to move forward with changes to the outdated Environment Act, a process that was started in 2014 due to similar problems with several peat harvesting and mining proposals.

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For more information, please contact:

Eric Reder | Manitoba Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee

204-997-8584, eric@wildernesscommittee.org

Additional Media Resources
PHOTO: Birds Flying in Whitewater Lake 
PHOTO: Whitewater Lake Wildlife Management Area Sign
PHOTO: Ducks in Whitewater Lake
VIDEO: Wildlife Footage in Whitewater Lake