Swift Current Creek Watershed Stewards experienced success during year of change
The Swift Current Creek Watershed Stewards (SCCWS) had a successful year in 2022, even though it experienced various changes.
Details about the activities of the SCCWS during the past year were provided at the organization’s annual general meeting in the Swift Current Research and Development Centre conference centre, March 6.
“I’m very positive about the year,” SCCWS Executive Director Kevin Steinley said. “We’ve gone through some changes internally and external changes, but we’ve been able to stick to the mandate of the Swift Current Creek Watershed Stewards and do projects and education that meet our mission and give our stakeholders information that they can use to keep the health of the watershed good.”
A key internal change for the organization involved his position as executive director, which became a part-time role since April 2022. This was necessary for two reasons. He took a contract position with the Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds to assist with the delivery of the new Prairie Watersheds Climate Program. In addition, the Water Security Agency made changes to the funding model that previously provided financial support to watershed stewardship groups.
“So that’s leaving our group to find funding and obviously it’s not allowing us to have a full-time staff person,” he said.
The financial statements for the past year indicated a drop in Water Security Agency funding from $74,500 in 2021 to $26,075 in 2022. Contract funding from the Ministry of Agriculture for the delivery of agrienvironmental technical services under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership also ended in 2021. As a result, SCCWS revenue fell from $207,159 in 2021 to $100,084 in 2022.
The organization’s expenses were significantly lower in 2022, which made it possible to end the year with an operational loss of only $17,262. Its overall financial position remained sound and net assets at the end of the year was $161,683.
“We’ve been fortunate to build a financial reserve,” he said. “So it gives us an opportunity to continue to operate and investigate ways to meet our mission.”
SCCWS operated in a changing external situation during 2022 due to the restructuring of the Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds, which serves as an umbrella organization for watersheds in the province.
The restructuring resulted in the formation of five watershed districts and the amalgamation of nine watershed stewardship groups under the Association. The SCCWS spent quite some time during the past year working on the inter-organizational agreement with the Association.
Steinley felt confident, despite these various changes, that the SCCWS will still be able to focus on water quality and stream health in the watershed.
“Swift Current Creek Watershed Stewards have been around for over 20 years and I think we’ll find a way to keep working for the residents of the watershed,” he said.
The changes within the Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds included opening a new provincial office in Moose Jaw and hiring staff to deliver programming throughout Saskatchewan. The SCCWS was part of province-wide programming in the past, but this will now change.
“What it means then is that it gives us the opportunity to focus our time and efforts on regional programming that’s specific to and helps the Swift Current Creek watershed,” he said.
The SCCWS carried out a stakeholder consultation process in 2019 to identify issues and priorities for a healthy watershed. The results of that exercise will continue to assist the organization to identify focus areas for projects of relevance to the watershed.
For Steinley the highlight of the past year was the successful implementation of different projects. The SCCWS carried out four major projects during 2022.
Froghoppers, an educational program for students, is a long-running initiative of the SCCWS. It provides age and location relevant presentations about what is a watershed, water quality, water conservation, and animals and plants in the watershed.
Matty Hagman, the 2022 Summer Stewardship coordinator, gave 24 Froghopper presentations to 313 students during the summer at schools, camps and park programs.
The constructed wetland project was formally completed in 2022. It evaluated the potential benefits of treating excess irrigation water in a constructed wetland. The results were positive and indicated water could be re-used. There were some exceptions, depending on the type of crop irrigated, time of irrigation, fertilizer type and rate of application.
“We’ll continue to monitor the wetland to see how its effectiveness changes,” Steinley said. “We’re expecting to see that as the plant community matures, the filtering capacity of the wetland will improve.”
The project to identify grassland fragmentation in the watershed and in a portion of the South Saskatchewan River watershed was also completed in 2022. The goal was to identify suitable areas where the re-establishment of native grassland can increase habitat for species at risk.
A new project in 2022 aimed to determine the extent of the presence of Prussian carp, an invasive fish species, in the Swift Current and Rusk Lake Creek watersheds. It involved the collection of environmental DNA from water samples.
“It’s a good way to determine the presence of Prussian carp without spending a lot of time and money to try and catch live fish,” he said.
The results indicated Prussian carp’s presence is limited to a stretch of the Swift Current Creek from north of Swift Current to the South Saskatchewan River. The SCCWS plans to continue this project in 2023 with targeted eDNA sampling and perhaps even using nets to catch some live fish.