Farmscape for April 20, 2005  (Episode 1783)

The University of Manitoba predicts increasing levels of regional friction as competing demands for increasingly large volumes of water collide.

Asper School of Business Associate Dean Dr. Ed Tyrchniewicz warns the allocation of water is emerging as one of the key issues to be addressed as we move through the first decade of the 21st century.

He suggests stakeholders need to take a hard look at the institutions we have in place that relate to water and reevaluate the practices and policies being used for dealing with water.

Clip-Dr. Ed Tyrchniewicz-University of Manitoba 

I think with the diversification that we've seen in the agricultural sector in Manitoba, indeed on the prairies, we have more livestock production in Manitoba, particularly hog production, we have more special crops, vegetables and we have more processing, hog processing, potato processing etceteras.

We also have interjurisdictional issues on water.

For example Manitoba's water, other than what falls from above, comes from other jurisdictions, from Ontario, from the Northern US, from across the prairies.

Just using the prairies as an example, where Alberta and Saskatchewan are both increasing their agricultural diversification, they're going to want more of that water that is supposed to be flowing into Manitoba.

I think we'll have reasons to be scrapping over water with other jurisdictions.

Dr. Tyrchniewicz suggests stakeholders need to come together to answer such questions as what is the availability of water, what is the demand for water for these competing uses and to develop an equitable mechanism for allocating that water.

He points out water is already becoming a source of friction and as the demand for water continues to grow so will the concerns.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council