La Salle River not rolling along

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/03/2019 (2607 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Having riverfront property was a big plus for Jonathan Neal and family when they first bought their house on Blythefield Road in Sanford seven years ago.

“It’s part of the attraction of living in Sanford,” Neal said.

However for the past three summers, rather than being able to use the river for canoeing, swimming and other water sports, the family has watched levels drop substantially and a variety of vegetation crop up where water once flowed.

“Last year our boating season ended in mid-June,” Neal said, adding that he even tried raking out some plant growth.

The family lives close to a municipal weir that requires repair or replacement. “It’s always been leaking but it’s getting worse,” Neal said.

Neal, who has a diploma in Natural Resource Management, said when plant growth decomposes it results in a higher level of carbon dioxide being released with lower oxygen levels potentially harming fish and other water species.

He watched as two sets of repairs that he views as being unsuccessful were made to the weir last summer.  

As well as being concerned about the growth of invasive species such as wild rice that can hamper the river’s flow, Neal is also worried about the possible negative effect that the damaged weir could have on the local water supply.

The Sanford water treatment plant and reservoir pulls water out of the La Salle River for residents throughout the municipality. Its intake is located close to the weir.

Neal said he regularly snowmobiles on the river from Sanford to Ferndale and has discovered what he calls sink holes. These are holes created when the river level drops after surface ice has formed leaving a gap in between. Neal said he estimates that the river level in the Sanford area has dropped by about three feet since freeze-up.

Neal recently sent a letter to Macdonald council asking when the damaged weir will be repaired or replaced, what the cost will be and what level of government will pay for the work. He also spoke about his concerns at the Feb. 26 council meeting.

Macdonald reeve Brad Erb said the weir will likely be repaired later this year, but the provincial government is looking at the fall of 2020 for reconstruction.

“It’s a provincial project. We have no input into the design,” Erb said.

Erb said an adequate river water supply is needed to provide water for all Macdonald users. The drier than normal conditions over the past two summers have created a lower water level on the La Salle River and also resulted in higher use as people use more water for lawn and garden watering.

In his letter, Neal also mentioned the three provincially owned Assiniboine River pumping stations that are usually operated from May to October to send water from the Assiniboine in the RM of Portage la Prairie along the La Salle and Elm Rivers and Mill Creek. In 2018 the RMs of Portage la Prairie, Cartier and Macdonald were concerned about the possibility of the provincial government offloading responsibility for operating and maintaining the stations to the RM of Portage la Prairie.

The transfer didn’t go ahead, and Portage la Prairie reeve Kameron Blight said on Feb. 27 that “we have had no further communications with the provincial government on this issue. Meetings have been set up but have unfortunately been postponed.”