A major drain project west of Altona should solve a chronic problem with localized crop loss, according to Don Wiebe, Reeve for the Municipality of Rhineland.

This summer, public works crews have been carving out about four miles of land leading into the Buffalo Creek to create the South Buffalo Drain.

"There's an area just south of the (highway) 201, (near) Road 10 West, there was a real problem with crop damage year-to-year," explained Wiebe, noting Council had been getting some pressure from local landowners to fix the issue for a few years now. "We decided it was severe enough that it made it on the Council agenda, it's been talked about for a couple of years but we finally got it on our to-do list."

Wiebe explained the new drain will guide water into the Buffalo Creek at a point where the waterway is low enough to accommodate extra runoff.

He estimates the project is about two weeks away from being finished.