Proposed drainage regulations

Manitobans have first-hand experience with watershed disasters. Flooding in southwestern Manitoba and blue-green algae blooms on Lake Winnipeg happen, in part, because of upstream activity.

New drainage regulations proposed by the Government of Manitoba will help conserve wetlands and the benefits they provide. When enacted, the new drainage regulations will benefit landowners,
communities and producers who suffer the effects of severe weather, such as the Manitoba floods of 2011 and 2014. Our research has shown that wetland conservation is an important step toward
stopping, and eventually reversing, water-related problems on the Prairies. We are working hard to ensure the new regulations are adopted and effective.

By protecting these wetlands, Manitoba will store more than 100 million tonnes of carbon and prevent up to 1,000 tonnes of phosphorus from entering lakes and waterways every year. This will prevent or reduce nutrient and pesticide runoff from approximately one-third of agricultural land.