Drainage workshop offered in Sask.

Saskatchewan farmers who want to better manage water on their land are encouraged to take a new online workshop on the process of gaining approval and building their projects.

AgH2Onward is free and requires two hours on each of two days to complete.

Julie MacKenzie, part of the development team, said farmers will increasingly be called upon to adapt to climate change, and managing their water is part of that. Systems have to be resilient and adaptable, she said, because they have to be able to manage the extremes of droughts and floods.

“Drainage is part of that but keeping water inside their network for storage is too,” she said.

The five-module course takes participants through the process of gaining approval, forming drainage networks, what types of works are available and permitted, the benefits of wetlands and more.

MacKenzie said this is an educational piece that supplements the Agricultural Water Management Regulations introduced several years ago.

The course also includes videos, which registered participants can access later, on various aspects.

For example, climate scientist David Sauchyn from the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative offers an overview of how temperature and precipitation shifts have occurred. Western and northwestern Canada are warming more quickly than other cold climate places, according to historical data.

Modelling is the only way to predict what may happen in future, but he said the range between the driest and wettest years is increasing and farmers have to be prepared to deal with that.

Farmers have always been good at adapting, Sauchyn says, and that is really the only option.

“Adaptation is changing what you do,” he said. “Prepare for a warmer climate and more variability.”

The course and videos examine the various types of water management strategies, from surface ditches to riser pipes to consolidation, and the benefits of working in a network.

The courses are live so that participants can ask questions, Mackenzie said.

Partners in the course development include WSA, PARC, Prairie Water, Saskatchewan Conservation and Development Association, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds and Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.

Natural Resources Canada, through its Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise program, provided funding.

For more information or to register, go to www.agh2onward.ca.