Water, Water, Everywhere

1
Water, Water, Everywhere

• Actions needed to mitigate
• Future flooding in Manitoba SaskatchewanPresen
  tation by Jordan Morningstar
• Councillor for RM of Brenda, Ward 1

2
Three Primary Concerns

• Public Safety
• Economic
• Environmental

3
Public Safety

• Access to ALL towns, villages, and occupied farm
  yards MUST be maintained.
• If an emergency happens during a flood and EMT
  services cannot reach the person, they are as
  good as dead.
• One person drowned in this year's flood, how many
  in the next flood?

4
Economic

• Cost to store water on farmlands is borne
  completely by the farmer
• Farmers paid for the land, they pay tax on the
  land and interest on the mortgage, no matter how
  much water is on top of it.

5
Economic

• If people in larger centres want to be protected
  from flood waters, they should be the ones paying
  to be protected.
• Therefore, the government needs to pay rent on
  the land that has been used for Flood Mitigation
  for the larger centres.

6
Economic

• Reducing the losses from flooding is a good
  thing, BUT
• Forcing farmers and rural residents to shoulder
  the extra water (and loss) without compensation
  creates a two-tier society where certain Manitoba
  residents are worthy of flood protection, and
  certain residents are not.

7
Environmental

• Wetlands are a good thing
• Creating habitat that supports biodiversity is a
  good thing
• Allowing farmers and rural people to help the
  process is a good thing.

8
Environmental

• Using farmland as water storage to protect the
  urban centres from flooding and passing it off as
  wetlands is a bad thing.
• Displacement of land habitat as shorelines
  change shape and size
• Hundreds of thousands of dead trees along rivers
  and sloughs.
• Aquatic wildlife carried out of lakes dams by
  floodwaters into unsuitable habitats.

9
Solutions

• First solution DON'T BLAME THE FARMERS!
• We didn't cause the rain to fall, we shouldn't be
  punished for it.

10
Solutions

• Second SolutionDo not force rural communities,
  individuals, and municipalities to shoulder the
  cost of flood mitigation for the greater good.
• If people downstream want protection and
  wetlands, they should pay for protection and
  wetlands.

11
Solutions

• Third SolutionAccept Local Input
• We are the ones living here, we are the ones who
  know where the water goes and how it acts