The Seine Rat River Conservation District is looking to implement a flood and drought adaptation plan.

District Manager Jodi Goerzen says the project is in partnership with the RM of Hanover to aid in water retention adding this project will span the entire Seine and Rat Rivers from Winnipeg to the U.S. border, and from the Sandilands to the Red River. She notes this project would benefit multiple municipalities.

"From that point we're able to model where the water flows and what the impact of flooding is on our land assessments. To model water retention projects put on top of that and how that's going to alleviate a lot of these flooding areas and flooding issues in the whole district on a watershed base, but also down for each municipality."

Goerzen says to accomplish the flood and drought adaptation plan they have applied for a grant through the Federation of Manitoba Municipalities for $120,000.

"Ideally, it would be to showcase one of the projects and to be able to develop the model of how much money this one project would be saving the municipality as opposed to continually doing more and more drainage. There's a point where you can only do so much drainage until the water has to go somewhere. If you keep getting more rain and flow coming through, no matter how much drainage you have, the water is still going to be sitting on the land."

She adds if they were able to build containment areas for the water and then slowly release it, that would be ideal.

RM of Hanover Reeve Stan Toews adds being able to manage the water more effectively will save a lot of money and aggravation in the long-term.

"I have not seen the plan but it comes at the perfect time because council also wants to view our drainage. The way we have done drainage and the way we are doing drainage to see if there are places where we can hold back water and slow it down some. So, this would fit right in with the conversation's plan."

Goerzen says they will find out in April if the grant they applied for was approved and then hope to start the project in the spring/summer.