The International Souris River Study Board (ISRSB) is asking the public to share its experiences with water levels along the Souris River.
A questionnaire is available on the website of the International Joint Commission, which is responsible for bodies of water that cross both Canada and the U.S. Participants are asked to fill out the survey until Nov. 12.
Debbie McMechan, the Canadian co-lead of the ISRSB, said a major focus of this study has been obtaining public feedback.
“In this instance, where they’re looking at reservoir operations, high and low levels at different times of the year, which do have tremendous impacts on folks,” said McMechan, who works out of Pierson, Man.
“Being able to get feedback from different people living in the basin allows our … water science engineers to input that information into the modelling platform so they can test and evaluate different operating scenarios.”
Understanding the impacts of reservoir operations and water levels along the river will help ISRSB make recommendations that best reflect the needs and challenges of basin communities on both sides of the border.
McMechan said much of their work is connected to the flood of the Souris River from seven years and the devastation it caused. The flooding in Minot was particularly alarming to her.
“They’re not just considering the city of Minot. The study is looking at the entirety of the basin,” she said. “Nobody wants to tweak things so much that they fix it in one area, but they leave other areas vulnerable.
“So although the flood that was devastating in ’11 was a reason for the study to be commissioned, the study itself aims to look at the entire Souris River Basin.”
Some work on the study took place as far back as 2013.
McMechan said it took seven years for this study to be launched because funding needed to be secured.
The committee is interested in any information that can be provided.
As part of the study, water science engineers will set up various modelling platforms to test and evaluate different operating scenarios. Public responses to the questionnaire will help these technical experts better understand the impacts and benefits to communities in different parts of the basin as flows increase and water levels reach different elevations.
The first phase of work using public input will begin in November and is expected to be completed in February 2019. Those who get their information in by November will likely have their data included, McMechan said. If it comes in afterwards, it might not be included, because they’re working on a timeline that ends in 2020.
“This isn’t the last time the public will have an opportunity to comment,” said McMechan. “As we go through the different phases of the study, there will be other opportunities where we’re going to be asking for public input and feedback in order to best understand this basin.”
To be informed of future opportunities to participate in the study and to receive an email notification when new information is available from the study, members of the public are encouraged to subscribe to updates.
