Neighbours in the R.M of Stanley are working together to provide a sustainable water source, year-round.

Neighbours Gerry Peters, Chris LaRocque and Gary Hamm have built a water control culvert to hold a minimum amount of permanent water in a nearby wetland area.

The control structure also fills a pre-existing dugout on the property, while additional water levels above the minimum can be held back temporarily in a back-flood area with the use of the stop-logs.

Combined, these features help to reduce flooding and erosion downstream.

"The idea was to have a fishing area and last year we did quite a bit of canoeing there, which is awesome," Hamm says.

LaRocque adds, "the biggest reason for the control was that we kept flooding out the mile road down from there. It's amazing how much dirt the water moved in our quarter section in that last five or six years before the control was installed."

Before the dam structure was constructed, a larger but shallower area was flooded each year. 

Then, once flooding receded, grasses grew which could be hayed. 

The neighbours can also use the wetland as a reservoir for watering livestock during the summer if needed.

The project is possible with help from the Conservation District and the Growing Forward program. Growing Forward is an agricultural fund put forward by provincial and federal governments helping farmers in environmentally friendly practices.