Environment committee  I'll start and then David can add any comments. Lake Diefenbaker in itself, I think, is supporting that. It's a large storage reservoir. It holds about eight million acre-feet of water. It's a very large man-made reservoir. We use it to capture and store water in years when there's excess precipitation or excess water flowing on the Saskatchewan River.

Environment committee  May I add something, Mr. Kram? When the lake was created back in the 1960s, 500,000 acres of irrigation was the vision. We're currently only at 145,000 acres. We've only achieved 20% of that vision. There's a lot more room for growth.

Environment committee  Thanks, Mr. Kram. We do support the creation of the Canada water agency if it doesn't have a role as a regulator. That's something our province has been adamant about from day one. We believe maintaining provincial autonomy over water management is key for Saskatchewan, and I know that a number of our neighbouring provinces have the same view.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me back to the committee and for allowing us to appear again. Today I'd like to build on my previous remarks to reinforce the importance that responsible water management, which is sustainable, adaptable and reliable, is not only clearly good for Saskatchewan communities, producers and industry, but is also beneficial for habitat, aquatic species and the environment.

Environment committee  Yes, I suppose there could be. Again, I can't speak for other jurisdictions, but I know that in our own province we capture that data. We have a number of monitoring stations on the major rivers that flow in and out of our province, so we know how much water is coming in. We work with irrigators.

Environment committee  I'm sorry. It didn't translate.

Environment committee  Maybe I'll start, and I'll have Mr. Cooper add to it. When I think of the Canada water agency, we've had limited interactions. We had a couple of early meetings when they were looking at establishing it at the official level, and we and some of the neighbouring provinces spent some time talking about what the role would look like and making sure....

Environment committee  Yes, thanks Mr. Kram. I'll start, and then Mr. Cooper can jump in. What I would say is that especially in years when there are drier conditions, it gives producers that certainty that they will have enough water to produce a crop. For example, this year we saw some of the irrigated yield on durum, for example, at close to 100 bushels per acre in an irrigation district, whereas the dryland production was under 30 bushels per acre, so it gives producers that certainty.

Environment committee  We are seeing, with some of the existing irrigation already, vegetable production. We're seeing some specialty crops. I am aware of one producer who grew different varieties of irrigated beans that normally wouldn't be grown in our province. We're seeing a local company growing carrots for local production and local grocery stores in our province.

Environment committee  Maybe I'll just back up a little bit for the committee's interest. The Water Security Agency in Saskatchewan is a unique organization in the country. In it everything water-related is under one agency. We advance different water management initiatives that are required to support the provincial economy and the quality of life for Saskatchewan residents while protecting the environment.

Environment committee  Lake Diefenbaker does just that. It provides an ample supply of water that can be used, whether for our communities or for agricultural production. It makes water available in drier years. We have had years in which there has been excess water, and it helps provide protection against flooding.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the committee for inviting us here today to speak about water management in Saskatchewan. Canada is a water superpower. Across our great land—but especially in Saskatchewan and Manitoba—our water is the key to our prosperity. It sustains economies, turns aspirations to reality and helps communities reach their full potential.