SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
In a recent ruling the Irrigation Council Appeal Panel upheld the Eastern Irrigation District’s (EID) decision to keep a water delivery point at the location selected by the district for a project in Gem.
Doerksen Farms, represented by father and son, Arno and Lorin Doerksen, appealed the EID’s delivery point claiming that they can get water from the Crab Lake Drain which runs across their property and is about 100 metres from the proposed project.
The EID argued that water should be delivered from the North Branch Canal which is about six miles from the project.
The district told the panel that the drain was neither practical nor economical due to various factors, including the existing water allocations and physical impediments in the drain such as cattails and silt.
They also stated that it is likely that additional water would flow over the banks and flood adjacent lands.
Ryan Gagley the EID’s assistant manager, said diverting water from the drain would be feasible, however, he wasn’t sure the EID could clean the drain and that it isn’t needed.
“There would be ample water available for the project from a delivery point off the North Branch Canal but not from the Crab Lake Drain,” the panel heard.
The Doerksens argued that, “This delivery point would be significantly less costly, more ecologically and environmentally friendly and would not impact other district members.”
Connecting to the North Branch will require the Doerksen’s to build a $3.5 million pipeline that crosses both a gravel and oiled road, a paved highway and 20 pipelines.
Lorin Doerksen told The Bulletin that he had a feasibility study completed that found it was practical to send water down the drain.
The panel concluded that the EID and the Doerksen’s were saying the same thing, “It was feasible to use the Crab Lake Drain to deliver water to the project in the sense that sufficient water could, in theory, be deliver(ed).
“Where the dispute arose was whether it was impractical or uneconomic to use the Crab Lake Drain for the delivery to the project.”
The panel stated that the EID and all irrigation districts have the authority to choose the point of delivery.
Marvin Koochin, the EID’s assistant general manager of legal and corporate services, told the EID board that the panel rejected the Doerksen’s “impractical or uneconomic factor argument” because it is the district that considers whether a project is impractical or uneconomic based on the interests of the district and its users as a whole.
Doerksen said he has discussed other options with district board members and staff.
The Doerksens also appealed the infrastructure deadline of Sept. 30, 2024. The panel agreed and it was changed to July 31, 2025.
