WSA Investing $140 Million to Keep Saskatchewan's Water Resources Sustainable, Adaptable and Reliable

Today, the Water Security Agency (WSA) announced they will invest $140 million in capital and operations for their 2024-2025 budget. This includes a focus on rehabilitating our province’s network of dams and water management structures along with irrigation development. 

In 2024-2025, WSA will invest $42 million in the maintenance, upgrading, and rehabilitation to water management structures across Saskatchewan.

WSA owns and operates 72 dams and hundreds of kilometers of channels across the province. This infrastructure allows WSA to manage Saskatchewan’s water resources to protect against flood and drought, ensure communities have reliable sources of water, develop new opportunities for producers, and protect habitat.

By 2050, the world’s population is expected to increase by nearly two billion people, from eight billion to close to 10 billion. This means global food production must increase by 70 per cent to meet this demand. Irrigation expansion is key to Saskatchewan helping feed a growing world.

WSA is moving forward with constructing the early works of the first 90,000 acres of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project. WSA will invest $20 million in the engineering, design and engagement with stakeholders and Indigenous rights holders. This is expected to be done over the next 12 to 14 months, with major construction of the 90,000 acres being targeted for 2025.

In addition to expanding irrigated acres at Lake Diefenbaker, WSA is looking at all areas of the province to expand irrigation and will be invested $10 million in other irrigation development projects in Saskatchewan.

Since 2020, over 58,000 acres of irrigation have been developed, which is the largest growth since the early 1980s. The Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project will position Saskatchewan to meet the needs of a growing population across the globe.

WSA also carries out vital operational work that ensures the province’s water quality including regulating over 800 drinking water and over 600 wastewater facilities in Saskatchewan; this year’s budget invests in WSA’s operational activities to continue to keep Saskatchewan’s water resources sustainable, adaptable, and reliable.