R.M. of Springfield group calls for water rights bylaw from residents

OAKBANK, MAN. -

A group of residents in the R.M. of Springfield is holding the first of three information sessions tonight in Anola, Man. sparked by concerns over the future of the area’s water supply.

The Springfield Taxpayers Rights Corp. is worried about the potential impact two industrial operations could have on the availability and quality of water in the area.

The group feels its local municipality hasn’t done enough to ensure aquifers are protected.

“They’ve allowed some high water usage businesses to come in,” said Margaret Marion-Akins, one of the organizers of the information sessions and a resident in the R.M. of Springfield for 40 years.

Residents in the rural municipality just east of Winnipeg get their drinking water from wells drilled into underground aquifers.

It is a system they have come to rely on but one Akins and her husband Allan worry may be at risk due in part to drought, climate change, and a lack of municipal regulation.

They’re calling on their local mayor and council to implement a residents-first water rights bylaw.

“Because that’s our livelihood, that’s our most precious resource here,” said Allan Akins.

For the Akins, the concern stems from local leaders allowing a peat moss mixing facility to open on agricultural land near their home with, what they say was a lack of public input.

The Akins are concerned about the amount of water the business, which became fully operational this past August, will use.

“Council has said numerous times on record that they recognize we’re getting into drought periods, yet they have no idea how much consumption from the aquifer this community can take,” Akins said.

Tiffany Fell, mayor of the R.M. of Springfield, said she’s aware of the group’s concerns.

“We understand that our water needs to be protected,” Fell said, adding the municipality has conducted multiple water studies since 2014, which make several recommendations to safeguard the drinking water supply.

“There have been robust studies done to protect our water and we are going to be implementing those recommendations,” Fell said.

Fell said the municipality is supportive of a recent decision by the provincial government to order an assessment of a second operation in the municipality — a proposed silica sand extraction project — which will be subject to a public hearing and environmental review by the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission.

Some residents are concerned about the impact that project could have on the quality of their water.

“So there is a large concern for the protection of us as homeowners, because without water we really don’t have much, do we,” Marion-Akins said.

Berger, the Quebec-based company that runs the peat moss plant, said in a recent statement to CTV News Winnipeg it’s staying in close contact with residents. The company said it’s very sensitive to their concerns and that every protective measure regarding water has been implemented.

The meeting in Anola will be held at the Anola Community Club from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A second meeting will be held on Dec. 7 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cooks Creek Community Centre followed by a third meeting on Dec. 9 at Dugald Community Club from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Organizers said public health measures will be followed and that proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to attend.