Three municipalities are talking about ways to better control the water that flows through our region.

Rhineland, Stanley and Montcalm are discussing the idea of creating a group that would collaborate on the management of water that streams down the escarpment and into the Red River.

"It's about water retention, it's about the release of water, it's about soil erosion, it's about all those things in terms of managing that and doing it in such a way that we maximize our land resource base and make it sustainable," said Rhineland reeve Don Wiebe.

Leaders from all three municipalities met earlier with April North, a water resources planner with Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship. North will meet again later this month with all three councils to discuss how best to move forward on this initiative together.

Wiebe pointed out they're not trying to establish a conservation district, although their proposed water management group would carry some of the principals of such an organization.

"We need to work together because everything ends up in the Red River and we need to do it in such a way that we preserve the quality of water and land as a resource base," said Wiebe.

There are a variety of watersheds, such as the Buffalo Drain, Hespeler, and Dead Horse watersheds that have a direct impact on all three municipalities in one way or another.