Planning for the Future: Climate Change Adaptation, Drought & Disaster Management in the Pembina Valley

The Pembina Valley Water Cooperative Inc. (PVWC) with the support of the Municipality of Rhineland, MB, will develop a Drought Management Plan and an Updated Master Plan to identify the current level of preparedness, risk and drought impacts and to initiate a plan to minimize risks and impacts on its system and customers in the Pembina Valley.Southern Manitoba’s vulnerability to climate variability and change has been highlighted by recent drought events in 2017, and flooding along the Boyne River that forced Carman’s water treatment plant to shut down due to high turbidity levels. With these Plans, PVWC will better understand the steps to become more resilient to natural disasters, including times of drought, while maintaining a high level of service of supplying sufficient potable water to the region well into the future. The PVWC was formed in the early1990s in southern Manitoba in response to drought conditions in the region causing severe water shortages to communities in the region. Three water treatment plants, pumping stations, two reservoirs and an extensive network of 300km regional water pipelines supply potable water to communities, industry and agricultural businesses in the area. The PVWC water system functions as a backbone to the health and prosperity of the region but has yet to be fully stressed under inevitable and foreseeable drought conditions.The master plan and drought management plan will unfold as follows:a) Master Plan Study: Associated Engineering will work closely with the PVWC on developing and shaping the master plan. This will include several working meetings to collaborate on the water distribution model outputs used to assess the system capacity needs, as well as the development of strategies and scenarios to meet future water quality and capacity requirements of the water system. The Plan will update the previous PVWC Regional Water System Master Plan developed in 2003 and follow a similar format and allow for comparison of the previous plan.b) Drought Management Plan Study: For the Drought Management Plan Study, Associated Engineering will work closely with the PVWC, The Manitoba Water Services Board (MWSB) and Government of Manitoba representatives (Manitoba Sustainable Development) involved in the Manitoba Drought Management Strategy. This newly drafted plan will be applied in the PVWC system to profile the area for drought and potential impacts and to develop mitigating and drought proofing strategies and policies related to drought preparation and response. There will be an active effort to integrate the drought management plan into the emergency management processes of the 14 municipalities. The Municipality of Rhineland strongly supports the study work to develop a plan for the future to deal with drought and disasters, through growth in population and changes in regulations for potable water by Health Canada. A resolution from the Municipality supporting this study and plan development by PVWC was passed on September 13, 2017. Rhineland is a member of the FCM's PCP program.