Paul McDonald, who grows potatoes near Altona, Man., applied for an irrigation licence in 1992. He has yet to receive one, even though the government has given his local irrigation association a letter of intent to approve the work. Farmers irrigated 74,000 acres of land in 1999, up from 32,000 in 1988. The rapid expansion is tied to growth in potato processing, said McDonald, president of the Association of Irrigators of Manitoba. A 1999 survey showed farmers want to expand irrigation by 43,000 acres over three to five years.
Irrigation systems are expensive to build.
But he said the investment is necessary, not just for potatoes but other high-value crops as well. Steve Topping, director of Manitoba Conservation's water resources branch, admitted the department has not been able to keep up with a boom in drainage and irrigation requests. A court challenge last year stopped work on drainage application approvals for six months. The branch has recently added five staff to its licensing section, he said, and is trying to develop alliances with local conservation districts to help speed up the approval process. The department deals first with priorities identified by municipalities, Topping said.