The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the

Canadian provinces Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, N ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

that flows east from

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in the southern part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was formed by the construction of the Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across ...

in south-western Saskatchewan to join the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River ( ; ) is a long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked ...

in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near the village of St. Lazare. It is in a region called the Prairie Pothole Region of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and five

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s. It is also within Palliser's Triangle and the

Great Plains ecoregion The ecology of the Great Plains is diverse, largely owing to their great size. Differences in rainfall, elevation, and latitude create a variety of habitats including short-grass prairie, short grass, mixed-grass prairie, mixed grass, and tall-gras ...

. With the construction of the Qu'Appelle River Dam and the Gardiner Dam upstream, water flow was significantly increased and regulated. Most of the Qu'Appelle's present flow is actually water diverted from the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river begins at the confluence of the Bow River, Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and ends at the Saskatchewan River Forks in ce ...

Upper and lower watersheds

According to the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, the Qu'Appelle Valley is made up of two watersheds with the dividing point being Craven Dam on the east side of Craven:

Lower Qu'Appelle Watershed

The Lower Qu'Appelle Valley is in the south-eastern part of Saskatchewan and covers an area of .Water Security Agency. (2013). ''Lower Qu'Appelle River Watershed Plan''. Retrieved from https://www.wsask.ca/Global/Water%20Info/Watershed%20Planning/Lower%20Qu%27Appelle%20Watershed/Lower%20Qu%27Appelle%20River%20Watershed%20Plan%20-%20Final.pdf The Lower Qu'Appelle Watershed begins at the Craven Dam east of the village of Craven and extends to the Manitoba border. In the Lower Qu'Appelle Valley, the river flows through six major lakes. From west to east are the Pasqua,

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

, Mission, Katepwa, Crooked, and

Round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * Having no sharp corners, as an ellipse, circle, or sphere * Rounding, reducing the number of significant figures in a number * Round number, ending with one or more zeroes * Round (crypt ...

Lakes. Major tributaries in this watershed are Loon, Jumping Deer,

Pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

, and Kapsovar Creeks. Lesser tributaries include the Pearl, Indianhead, Redfox, Ekapo, Cutarm, and Scissor Creeks.

The Wascana & Upper Qu’Appelle Watersheds

The Wascana & Upper Qu’Appelle Watersheds are made up of four sub-basins and the Moose Jaw River Watershed. The four sub-basins total about and the Moose Jaw River Watershed adds a further . The total combined

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for the Upper Qu'Appelle Watershed is . The four sub-basins include the Lanigan-Manitou Sub-basin, Wascana Creek Sub-basin, Last Mountain Lake Sub-basin, and the Upper Qu'Appelle Sub-basin. The Upper Qu'Appelle Sub-basin includes all of the remaining land not included in the other basins all the way up to Qu'Appelle River Dam. The Upper Qu'Appelle River is fed by several rivers and creeks which include Ridge Creek, Iskwao Creek, High Hill Creek, Deer Run Creek, Wascana Creek, Boggy, and Flying Creeks, Last Mountain Creek, and Moose Jaw River. There are two major lakes along the course of the river in the Upper Qu'Appelle Sub-basin: Buffalo Pound Lake and Eyebrow Lake.Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. (2008). ''Upper Qu'Appelle River and Wascana Creek Watersheds Advisory Committees: Upper Qu’Appelle River and Wascana Creek Watersheds Source Water Protection Plan.'' Retrieved from https://www.wsask.ca/Global/Water%20Info/Watershed%20Planning/Upper%20Qu'Appelle%20River%20and%20Wascana%20Creek%20Watersheds%20Source%20Water%20Protection%20Plan.pdf Another major lake, Last Mountain Lake, flows into the Upper Qu'Appelle River through Last Mountain Creek at Craven.

Description

The river flows into several lakes in south-eastern Saskatchewan, including: * Eyebrow Lake, Buffalo Pound Lake to the north of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

, which supplies water to Moose Jaw, Regina, and the

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

Potash Mine at Belle Plaine; *The Fishing Lakes ( Pasqua,

, Mission, and Katepwa lakes) to the north-east of Regina; and, *farther downstream, to the north of Grenfell and Broadview: Crooked Lake and Round Lake. Assorted tributary coulees drain into the Qu'Appelle Valley at various junctures along its course, notably Echo Creek immediately upriver from Fort Qu'Appelle, and Last Oak Creek, north of Grenfell and Broadview, in the past the locus of an extremely successful aboriginal-managed ski resort. The other tributaries include the Moose Jaw River, Wascana Creek, Loon Creek, Jumping Deer Creek, Pheasant Creek, Kaposvar Creek, and Last Mountain Creek. 93% of the land in the Qu'Appelle Rivershed is used for agriculture purposes.Kulshreshtha, S., Nagy, C. and Bogdan, A. (2012) Present and Future Water Demand in the Qu’Appelle River Basin. Available at https://www.wsask.ca/Global/Lakes%20and%20Rivers/Provincial%20Forecast/2014/QuAppelle%20Water%20Demand%20Study.pdf Last Mountain Lake, the largest natural lake in southern Saskatchewan (Lake Diefenbaker is larger but is a man-made

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

), drains into the Qu'Appelle near the town of Craven, through Last Mountain Creek.

History

In 1787, the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

established a

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

post at Fort Espérance on the lower river. After it was abandoned in 1819, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

established a post at Fort Qu'Appelle in 1852 immediately adjacent to the site of what became the town of the same name. The Qu'Appelle River and Valley derive their name from a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

legend of a spirit that travels up and down it. The aboriginal people told the North West Company trader Daniel Harmon in 1804 that they often heard the voice of a human calling, "", meaning "What is calling?" ("" in French). They would respond, and the call would echo back (there is a strong echo phenomenon at Lebret). The name of the river in the

Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

is . Pauline Johnson, a half- Mohawk poet, learned of the legend and elaborated upon it with Victorian sentiment. In her version, a young Cree swain heard his name while crossing one of the lakes and replied, "Who calls?" Only his echo could be heard (hence Echo Lake), and he realized it had been his bride-to-be calling out his name at the instant of her death. In June 2021, hundreds of unmarked graves were found at the Qu'Appelle Valley's former

Marieval Indian residential school The Marieval Indian Residential School was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system. Located on the Cowessess 73, Cowessess 73 reserve in Marieval, Saskatchewan, it operated from 1898 to 1997. It was located in Qu'Appelle Valley, ...

on the Cowessess 73 reserve in Marieval, part of the

Canadian Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The sch ...

, the most found in Canada to date.

Communities

While there are no large population centres along the course of the river, only small towns, Indian reserves, villages, and resort villages, within the river's watershed is the province's second largest city and capital, Regina. St. Lazare is the only community on the river in Manitoba and it sits at the confluence of the

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...

and Qu'Appelle Rivers.

Reserve lands

The Qu'Appelle Valley is in Treaty 4 territory and is home to the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, and Nakota peoples who have inhabited the last 11,000 years.Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. (2009). First Nations in Saskatchewan. Retrieved from http://www.otc.ca/ckfinder/userfiles/files/fnl_1100100020617_eng.pdf However, due to acts such as the Indian Act of 1876, Indigenous peoples were forced to live on reserves. The

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

s located within the Qu'Appelle Valley include Piapot, Pasqua, Muscowpetung, Standing Buffalo, Cowessess, Kahkewistahaw, Sakimay, and Ochapowace.

Towns and villages

There are two towns and two villages in the valley along the course of the river. The first town within the valley is Lumsden with a total population of 1,824. The second town in the Qu'Appelle Valley is Fort Qu'Appelle with a total population of 2,027. Located approximately north-east of Regina, the town of Fort Qu'Appelle is located between Echo Lake and Mission Lake.Mclennan, D. (2005). Fort Qu’Appelle. In ''The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan''. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center. This town is of historical significance as it acted as a confluence between major trails that were positioned across the

North-West Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated pop ...

and as it was the place of signing for Treaty 4. The first village within the Qu'Appelle Valley is Craven, which is north-east of Regina at the junction of Highways 20 and 99. This village is home to the Country Thunder Music Festival—previously known as the Craven Country Jamboree. Although the population of Craven year-round is 214, when the Craven Country Jamboree is on, it becomes as populated as the biggest cities in Saskatchewan. The second village within the Qu'Appelle Valley is Tantallon, which has a total population of 91. This village is located off of Highway 8, and is known for its large statue of a whitetail deer.

Buffalo Pound Lake

The residential areas of Buffalo Pound Lake consist of multiple communities made up of both seasonal and year-round houses and cabins.Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. (2001). Buffalo Pound Lake Land Use and Resource Management Plan. Retrieved from http://publications.gov.sk.ca/redirect.cfm?p=77394&i=86729. Resort villages consist of North Grove, Sun Valley, and South Lake. Hamlets on Buffalo Pound Lake consist of Parkview and Sand Point Beach.

Fishing Lakes

The residential areas of the four Fishing Lakes consist of multiple communities made up of both seasonal and year-round houses and cabins.Calling Lakes Planning District. (2013). Calling Lakes District Plan''.'' Retrieved from http://www.4callinglakes.ca/public/images/Community_Planning/2013_CLDPC_District_Plan%20.pdf These communities consist of both resort villages and hamlets and are spread out among the four lakes. The resort villages are Fort San, and B-Say-Tah, and multiple communities representing the District of Katepwa. In addition to the resort villages, the organized hamlets consist of Pasqua Lake and Taylor Beach.

Crooked and Round Lakes

The residential areas of Crooked Lake are Sunset Beach, Moose Bay, Exner Twins Bay, Lakeside Beach, Melville Beach, Grenfell Beach, and Greenspot. East of Crooked Lake is Round Lake. The residential areas of Round Lake consist of two resort villages: Birds Point and West End.

Qu'Appelle Valley ecology

Ecosystems in the Qu'Appelle Valley

The Qu'Appelle Valley is made up of two ecosystems: grasslands and wetlands. The temperate grassland ecosystem is one of the world's most endangered ecosystems as it is often converted into farmland or developed for human expansion. Grasslands are dominated mostly by grass species and various herbs. Few tree types grow in grasslands and if they do they are stunted due to the variability of moisture and temperature. Plants must have high tolerance to drought due to the low and varying precipitation. Roots of these plants grow deep into the ground in order to connect to the groundwater in the soil and reduce erosion. Wetlands in the valley ecosystem provide food and habitat for animals and also enhance water quality by filtering out toxins, water pollutants, and over accumulation of nutrients. Wetlands store rain water and overflows from rivers in order to reduce flooding, while the groundwater supply is fed through the watershed.

Flora

Forests of trembling aspen and

green ash Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

grow on the slopes of the Qu'Appelle Valley while grasslands grow on the south facing slope of the valley. There are rich wetlands and riparian vegetation, as well as hayfields and cultivated land on the valley floor.

Bur oak ''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub ...

mainly take up the eastern section of the valley appearing on the southern facing slopes.

Fauna

Aquatic species

There are 30 small- and large-bodied fish species that live in the water system in the Qu'Appelle Valley and make up 45% of the fish biodiversity in Saskatchewan. The bigmouth buffalo, a fish species restricted only to the Qu'Appelle River watershed, is under federal protection as it is at risk of becoming extinct due to habitat loss. The Water Security Agency speculates that dams and structures that control water have caused the degradation of spawning habitats for bigmouth buffalo due to the alteration of the natural flow of lakes and river systems. The Water Security Agency states that the highest threat to the bigmouth buffalo population is demand of water used for agricultural, commercial, and domestic purposes. The brown bullhead, channel catfish, chestnut lamprey, and

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red-eyed fish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (bi ...

, are some other uncommon fish that are found in the valley. The rock bass are Saskatchewan's only native

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. Other fish species found in the river's and lakes of the Qu'Appelle Watershed include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

, sauger,

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

, lake whitefish,

cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

, mooneye,

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii'') is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is common ...

, shorthead redhorse, common carp, black bullhead,

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...

, and chub.

Terrestrial species

Bird species in the valley include the

wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a partially migratory species of perching duck found in North America. The male is one of the most colorful North American waterfowls. Taxonomy The wood duck was Species description, formal ...

, eastern wood-pewee, lazuli bunting, and

indigo bunting The indigo bunting (''Passerina cyanea'') is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is bird migration, migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to ...

. Painted and

snapping turtles The Chelydridae is a Family (biology), family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and ''Macrochelys''. Both are Endemic (ecology), endemic to the Western Hemisphere. Th ...

can be found in the river and drainage systems that enter it. Some eastern animals found in the valley include the eastern grey squirrel, red belly snake, and smooth green snake. This area is also home to around 30 endangered animal species including loggerhead shrike, and the

northern leopard frog ''Lithobates pipiens''Integrated Taxonomic Information System nternet2012''Lithobates pipiens'' pdated 2012 Sept; cited 2012 Dec 26Available from: www.itis.gov/ formerly ''Rana pipiens'', commonly known as the northern leopard frog, is a s ...

Air and atmospheric conditions

Climatic characteristics that are common to the grasslands ecosystems are: high evaporation rates, droughts, low precipitation, and high summer temperatures.Buhler M., Lispkey M., & Morland, J. The Qu’Appelle Valley. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.cmste.uregina.ca/valley/references.html This moist-mixed grassland biome has a sub-humid continental climate. As such, it is generally dry, sunny, and has extreme temperatures in summer and winter. The mean annual precipitation is .Golder Associates. (2013). ''Technical proposal for the SaskWater Buffalo Pound non-potable water system expansion project.'' Retrieved from http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/66/94131-12-1362-0044%20AE%20Vale%20Buffalo%20Pound%20Intake%20January%207,%202013.pdf Between 1981 and 2010, the mean temperature for January was and the mean temperature for July was .

Soil and terrain

The soil surface texture varies from loamy sand to loam and is low to moderately sensitive to compaction. The more compaction, the less the soil is capable of supporting plant growth. Because of the short warm season and long, cold winters, vegetation routinely dies and decomposers do not have adequate time to breakdown all the material. As a result, the groundcover of litter is built up. A large quantity of nutrients is stored in this litter as opposed to in the soil as it takes three to four years to be broken down in the grasslands. Because of the accumulation of plant litter on the top soil horizon, the soil is chernozemic and has a colour that varies from light brown to black.Kotowich, R., & Hardenbicker, U. (2015). Alluvial fans as archives for land-use changes in the Qu’Appelle Valley. Prairie Perspectives, 17, 8-17. The soil is neutral to slightly alkaline, and it has a texture that is medium to moderately fine. Where the plants have been removed or replaced by invasive species, there is more erosion. As a result of the seasonal variability, there is significant erosion that occurs from the snowmelt each spring. The effects are intensified where there is little ground cover present. There is also more sediment deposited where agriculture has taken place because the disruption of the land has accelerated the erosion of the soil. 14,000 years ago the last ice age retreated, forming the Qu'Appelle Valley and leaving many glacial deposits and evidence in the soil. The municipality of Fort Qu'Appelle sits on alluvial deposits that consists of silt, sand, clay, gravel, and other organic material deposited by the glacier. In some parts of the valley, the deposits are thick.

Water management within the Qu'Appelle

Watershed plans

Each watershed has its own water resources protection plan. In the spring of 2009, planning staff from the Water Security Agency (WSA) invited stakeholders in the Lower Qu'Appelle River Watershed to participate in watershed planning. These stakeholders, representing various organizations within the watershed, formed two watershed advisory committees (WAC): the Eastern and Western Lower Qu'Appelle River WACs. The committees discuss aquifer protection, lake and river water management, and governance and legislative requirements.

Water supply and demand in the Qu'Appelle Valley

93% of the land in the Qu'Appelle Watershed is used for agricultural purposes. Five potash mines are in the basin and an increase in irrigation development is expected. Water demand is anticipated to increase by 126% from 2010 to 2060. On low flow years,

supplies roughly 90% of the flow of the Qu'Appelle River. This water mainly originates from mountain snowmelt from the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

of Alberta. The

, which flows into Lake Diefenbaker, has seen flow rates drop by 12% in the last century.Fort Qu’Appelle KAIROS (2014). We are all water-keepers – A Call to Action to Restore the Qu’Appelle Watershed. Retrieved from https://www.kairoscanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/water_keepers_view_online.pdf With only 2% increase from runoff, water scarcity could be a problem in the near future. On the other hand, severe flooding of the Qu'Appelle Valley could also occur. Studies suggest that due to climate change, 31% to 46% of glacier volume of the eastern Rockies could melt by 2100.

Water demand under the baseline scenario

In 2010, demand for water in the Qu'Appelle River Basin was estimated at with direct anthropogenic demands accounting for 22.6% of the total demand. By 2060, estimates suggest that irrigation and expansion of the potash sector will account for 44.1% of water demand. Furthermore, there will be an increase of 162% in total direct anthropogenic water demand by 2060. The water demand per sector, according to the scenario analysis, is depicted below. As can be seen, agriculture demands the majority of the water in the Qu'Appelle basin. a) Agriculture: 2020 estimated amount of water demand is . 2060 estimated amount of water demand is . b) Industry and mining: 2010 amount of water demand was . 2020 estimated amount of water demand is . 2060 estimated amount of water demand is .

Water demand estimates under climate change scenario

Water demand is affected by changes in climate and occurrence of extreme weather related events. In the Qu'Appelle River Basin, climate change will produce higher temperatures and longer growing seasons which will have significant impacts on demand for water in the agricultural sector since crops and livestock will require more water. Industry and mining are not expected to increase their water demand under the referenced

climate change scenario A climate change scenario is a hypothetical future based on a "set of key driving forces".IPCC, 2022Annex I: Glossary an Diemen, R., J.B.R. Matthews, V. Möller, J.S. Fuglestvedt, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Méndez, A. Reisinger, S. Semenov (eds) In ...

. Municipal and domestic sectors are expected to increase their demand minimally.

Water demand estimates under water conservation scenario

Under the water conservation scenario, a 14% reduction in demand could be achieved by reductions in agriculture, industrial, and mining water demands.

Impacts on water quality

The water quality of freshwater sources in Southern Saskatchewan is poor.Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (2013). Lower Qu’Appelle River Watershed Plan. Retrieved from: https://www.wsask.ca/Global/Water%20Info/Watershed%20Planning/Lower%20Qu'Appelle%20Watershed/Lower%20Qu'Appelle%20River%20Watershed%20Plan%20-%20Final.pdf This is a result of eutrophication and the high mineral content of the groundwater. According to the Water Security Agency and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, algae blooms occur during calm, hot weather in lakes with shallow, slow moving, or still water that have acquired high levels of nutrients that promote the blooms. The nutrients come from: crop and livestock production, surface runoff containing fertilizers, pesticides, and manure, waste from waterfront properties, and waste from upstream communities. The Saskatchewan Government's 2013 ''State of the Watershed'' report assessed the overall condition of the Wascana Watershed as "impacted" and the impact of its stressors as being of "high intensity." In the Lower Qu'Appelle River Basin, shoreline properties result in water degradation because many disturb riparian areas and their septic infrastructure is aging and leaking. There is also a lack of policy to regulate and enforce septic infrastructure on shoreline properties. Short-term goals should focus on better education for citizens and cottage goers on how they can mitigate their environmental impact. Some solutions include using phosphate free shampoo, installing low flush toilets, and stopping illegal drainage.

Saskwater-Buffalo Pound Lake regional non-potable water supply system

Located northeast of

, Buffalo Pound Lake is the first major lake along the path of the Qu'Appelle river after being released from the Qu'Appelle River Dam at

. At levels of full supply, Buffalo Pound Lake holds of water that is used for recreation, industrial operations and to supply water to roughly one quarter of the province. This non-potable water supply system is intended to service the needs of multiple industrial customers and meet the ever-growing demands of the Belle Plaine area, particularly with respect to potash mining operations. The proposed project consists of three main parts: an intake and pumping station, a pipeline to carry water to an area south of

Kronau, Saskatchewan Kronau is a hamlet in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan located 28 km (17.5 miles) south east of Regina on Highway 33 in the Rural Municipality of Lajord No. 128. Listed as a designated place by Statistics Canada, the hamlet had a ...

, and a booster station along the route of the pipeline. A number of potential environmental impacts have been identified. Firstly, the proposed water pipeline would cause ground disturbance and would cross over two major tributaries of the Qu'Appelle River: the Moose Jaw River and Wascana Creek.SaskWater. (2014). Environmental Impact Statement. Retrieved from http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/66/94139-2013-002%20SaskWater%20Buffalo%20Pound%20Procjet%20EIS.%20Exec%20Summary.pdf Included in the Environmental Impact Statement was the acknowledgement that Buffalo Pound contains at least two species of concern: bigmouth buffalo and the chestnut lamprey. There is concern that development may further threaten these and other fish species. There would be the reduction of habitat for several rare plant and animal species that are known to exist in the area. These include:

big bluestem ''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot. Taxon ...

, few flowered aster, low milkvetch, lesser navarretia, Kelsey's cryptanthe, the

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in gra ...

, the

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, Passerellidae, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band acro ...

, and the

. This project could also contribute to the loss or alteration of heritage resources used by First Nations and Metis peoples. Increased volume of traffic from vehicles is a concern as well as the ongoing maintenance of the river channels, pipelines, and pumping stations for years to come.

Dams in the Qu'Appelle Valley

In the 1930s, water in the Qu'Appelle basin became critical due to persistent drought in the prairie and the global economic depression. These incidents prompted the Federal Government to establish the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA). The PFRA was tasked with restoring drought and soil drift zones in the three prairie provinces and assisting in the protection of surface water supplies for household use, livestock and irrigation.Prentice, P.E. James. (1998). ''QU’APPELLE VALLEY INDIAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY INQUIRY FLOODING CLAIM'' http://sclaimswp.bryan-schwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/images/stories/specific_claims_docs/03-ICC_CRI_Docs/ICCP-ACRI/Volume_09/QuAppelleValleyIndianDevelopment.pdf Water in the river system was necessary to support human life as well as fisheries, livestock, and irrigation. In May 1941, the PFRA requested the construction of a dam at the eastern end of Pasqua Lake — which would cause persistent floods in the Maskopetung and Pasqua reserves — and would require approval from the Ministry of Indian Affairs. This dam, known as the Echo Lake Project, was completed in 1942. At first, Indian Affairs believed that the dam project would cause damage to the environment and estimated that a total of $8,050 should be paid to the Muscowpetung and Pasqua Bands. Although both the PFRA and Indian Affairs agreed on the amount, it was never paid to the Bands. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the Muscowpetung and Pasqua Bands actually approved the dam project. Neither band received compensation until 1973 when negotiations began between the Bands and the PFRA. On 16 November 1976, the Bands accepted a one-time payment of $265,000 from the PFRA. Also in 1941, the Crooked Lake and Round Lake Projects were launched. The PFRA began construction without the consent of the Bands in the dam area, but in 1943 paid $3,300 to the Sakimay, Cowessess and Ochapowace Bands.

Historical land uses

Historical Indigenous use of natural resources

The Qu'Appelle Valley corridor has a rich history of trade and natural resource use that dates back prior to written records. Utilizing the local plants and animals, many Indigenous people of the corridor participated in trade and other economic activities. Women picked berries and Seneca root to sell to settlers in addition to use at home, while men cut and sold firewood.Guilbault, R. and Pasqua First Nation and Dillon Consulting Limited (2015). The history of Paskwa’s people. Pasqua, SK: Pasqua First Nation. Some living Indigenous elders from the Pasqua First Nation recall the days when they would pack up and head to what is now Regina's exhibition grounds to sell roots, berries, herbs and crafts. Regulations such as the Indian Act and prevented Indigenous people from participating in the settler economy and subsequently few Indigenous people of the Qu'Appelle Valley corridor were able to financially prosper from such activity. Without permission from the Indian agent, the Qu'Appelle Valley Indigenous people could not leave their reserve to sell their wares nor could they sell or butcher their own cattle. Some Indigenous communities in the Qu'Appelle Valley corridor had a complete outfit for grain farming and owned tractors and combines. They became so efficient at farming that they were "shut down" for fear of outcompeting non-native farming operations. The Indigenous people of the Qu'Appelle Valley hunted numerous animal species. Deer, the most common big game which was targeted in the years after Treaty 4 and depletion of wild bison herds, provided food and leather. Other animal species that were hunted in the area included elk,

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

, and occasionally black bear. Small game and waterfowl were also targeted due to their abundance near the Qu'Appelle Valley lakes. Ducks ( canvasbacks, blue bills,

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

s and teals),

geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

, prairie chickens,

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...

s, and

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

s were among the bird species that were hunted for food. Trapping for furs was also a profitable economic activity to the Indigenous people of the Qu'Appelle Valley corridor in the early part of the 20th century. Locals would trap rabbit,

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They ar ...

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

and

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...

and when possible and legal, sell the furs to settlers. Fishing for food and trade was practiced quite extensively. Targeted species within the Qu'Appelle Valley included

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

, whitefish,

and more. Before the days of treaties and reserve life First Nations people, including those in the Qu'Appelle Valley, constructed weirs at the narrow sections of rivers and streams in order to catch fish. Fish were either cooked soon after catch or split and smoked over fire in order to preserve for eating later. The berries that were picked in the Qu'Appelle Valley included chokecherries, saskatoon berries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and others.

Contemporary land uses

The valley has a number of contemporary uses including hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and scientific study. Indigenous peoples have a connection to Indigenous knowledge and traditions that is evident in their contemporary use of the land.

Hunting

Big game and birds are the main focus for hunting in the valley. The primary big game animals include

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

, whitetail deer, elk,

, pronghorn, and black bear. The birds that are hunted include migratory game birds (

, ducks, cranes, coots, and snipes), and upland game birds (

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

, and

s).

Fishing

Fish commonly found in the Qu'Appelle River system include

, whitefish, tullibee,

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

, bigmouth buffalo,

, and channel catfish. The valley is also home to the Saskatchewan Fish Hatchery at Echo Lake that produces 20 million walleye a year to be distributed around the province.

Trapping

People continue to trap rabbit,

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

, and

. Here, the trapping zone is called the Southern Fur Conservation Area (SFCA). The area used by most Indigenous trappers is near the Pasqua First Nation in the fall and winter seasons.

Gathering

People gather fruits and vegetables along with medicinal plants. The berries that are gathered are chokecherries, saskatoon berries, high-bush cranberries, gooseberries, pincherries, and raspberries. Modern day gatherers still pick medicinal plants, including berries, herbs, and sweetgrass; however, the Pasqua Nation is concerned that knowledge about medicinal plants is being lost.

Parks and recreation

The Qu'appelle Valley contains a number of parks and recreational sites including those of Echo Valley, Crooked Lake, Katepwa Point, Regina Beach, Buffalo Pound, Mission Ridge, and Beaver Creek.The Candid Camper. (10 December 2018). The Qu’Appelle Valley – Recreation for All Seasons. Retrieved from https://thecandidcampers.ca/2018/12/10/the-quappelle-valley-recreation-for-all-seasons/ Echo Lake and the Calling Lakes chain are especially popular and attract many travellers from the city of Regina. Activities occur year-round in the valley despite the cold winters. In the spring and summer, people enjoy canoeing, kayaking, camping, and swimming, while in the fall hiking becomes quite popular. During the winter, activities include skiing,

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

, and sleigh rides. In addition to the popularity of its lakes as summer recreational locales, the valley also contains popular venues for winter sports including the following: *White Track ski resort on Buffalo Pound Lake * Mission Ridge Winter Park, a popular skiing and snowboarding destination on the south shore of Mission Lake immediately adjacent to Fort Qu'Appelle *Last Oak Golf Course to the north of Broadview, some east of Regina *

Hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sports, air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium al ...

(and, less often,

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

) from the valley slopes, especially in the Crooked Lake and Round Lake regions. In this area the valley is up to deep and a mile wide, allowing for strong, smooth airflow up the side of the valley and ample landing areas on top and down in the valley, and providing a strong upward component of wind as it flows over the (in some places) optimally rounded valley edge, allowing pilots to soar in the "ridge lift" for many hours at a time. Pilots commonly travel from Manitoba and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and of course other locations in Saskatchewan to fly this natural wonder of the prairies. *The river valley contains relatively undisturbed grassland and coulees which provide habitat for native plant and animal species, such as the loggerhead shrike and the

(locally ). The easternmost slopes contain bur oaks, the only natural occurrence of oak trees in Saskatchewan. File:Lxx1255 Boating, bathing and fishing, Como Park, Lebret.jpg, Como Park, in resort village of Sandy Beach on Katepwa Lake, 1920s File:Qu'Appelle River, Fort Qu'Appele, circa 1910.jpg, Qu'Appelle River, Fort Qu'Appelle, circa 1910 File:Fort Qu'Appelle, circa 1910.jpg, Fort Qu'Appelle, circa 1910

Industrial land uses

Moose Jaw-Regina industrial corridor

The Moose Jaw-Regina Industrial Corridor holds about 24% of Saskatchewan's population and also 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the province.Olson, N. (2013). Moose Jaw and Regina – Industrial Corridor. ''The Leader Post''. Retrieved from http://www.leaderpost.com/business/moose+regina+industrial+corridor/7965905/story.html The corridor interlinks the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw, crossing six more municipalities in between—the villages of Pense, Grand Coulee, and Belle Plaine, and the Rural Municipalities of Moose Jaw No. 161, Pense No. 160 and Sherwood No. 159. It is adjacent to the four-lane TransCanada Highway and two railways —

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

, providing access to the east and west markets and also to the United States.Moose Jaw-Regina Industrial Corridor Committee Inc. (2014). RE: Saskatchewan Municipal Awards. Retrieved from http://municipalcapacity.ca/+pub/2014_moose_jaw_regina_industrial_corridor.pdf

Suitability of the corridor for industry use

The corridor is a well-established area for development; many international corporations have located their subsidiaries there for a number of reasons. Firstly, its location on the TransCanada Highway, with Canadian Pacific Rail and Canadian National Rail allows direct access to markets across Canada and to the United States.Moose Jaw. (2019). Economic Sector Profile. Retrieved from https://moosejaw.ca/economic-development/economic-sector-profile The close proximity to the Global Transportation Hub, one of Canada's inland ports, feeds material to and from the U.S. border. Furthermore, the Belle Plaine area is considered one of the top four heavy industrial sites in North America. The flatness of the land, with easy access to water, natural gas and electrical power is beneficial for industry. It is also near two of the fastest-growing urban centres in Saskatchewan—Regina and Moose Jaw, which provides easy access to airports for business. Lastly, the area is ideal because of the presence of vast high-quality reserves of potash.

Industries in the corridor

The Regina-Moose Jaw Industrial Corridor mostly relies on agriculture and agri-value processing, fertilizer production and mining, and energy. This area has experienced massive industrial construction over the last few years. Some of the industrial projects in the corridor include mining, pipelines, railway, and agriculture as well as fertilizer, ethanol, and salt plants. • Fertilizer: Yara Fertilizer is one of the largest producers of granular urea in North America. The company is in the industrial park of Belle Plaine. Alpine Plant Foods, the leader in liquid fertilizer production in Canada is also in this industrial park. •

Ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

: Terra Grain Fuels produces ethanol in the corridor. The company's ethanol plant has a capacity of approximately of ethanol annually and 163,800 tonnes of dried distillers' grains annually. • Salt: K+S Windsor Salt LTD operates a plant at Belle Plaine. This company produces and distributes salt-based products for multiple uses, such as agricultural, industrial, and household uses.

Mining production in the Qu'Appelle Valley corridor and impacts

Saskatchewan's potash production is heavily concentrated in the Qu'Appelle Valley corridor. As of 2013 there are six mines operating and eight mines in the proposal stage in the Qu'Appelle River Watershed. Mines in this area access the water necessary for production from three different source points—the Qu'Appelle River system itself, groundwater, and

(which comes from the Saskatoon South East Water Supply System—SSEWS). Because potash operations are reliant on water sources, this area of Saskatchewan is very attractive for potash production.

Pipelines in the Qu'Appelle Valley

There are two major pipelines that run through the Qu'Appelle Valley Corridor. The first is the TransCanada Mainline system that runs from the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, straight through to Manitoba, Ontario and part of Quebec. This pipeline is owned by TransCanada Pipelines Limited. The second is the Enbridge Mainline System. Owned by Enbridge Pipelines Inc., this system is used to transport petroleum products as well as natural gas liquids from

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

across to Manitoba and down into the United States. An initiative in 2015 by the

Nature Conservancy of Canada The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a private, non-profit, charitable nature conservation and restoration organisation based in Canada. Since its founding in 1962, the organisation and its partners have protected of land and water acro ...

worked to create safe and ecosystem friendly hiking trails that follow the pipeline routes in order to bring awareness to the fragile ecosystem of the Qu'Appelle Valley.Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. (2015). Spotlight on Saskatchewan: where pipelines meet conservation trails. Retrieved from https://www.aboutpipelines.com/en/blog/spotlight-on-saskatchewan-where-pipelines-meet-conservation-trails/

Railway in the Qu'Appelle Valley

(CP) provides transportation for oil, grain, consumer products, fertilizers, etc. through the Qu'Appelle Valley and all of Saskatchewan. The CP Belle Plaine Railway Spur was developed to transport potash from the Belle Plaine mine to market, which was done by adding of rail from the mine site to the Kalium Spur near Belle Plaine.KPCL Dirt Movers. (2019). Projects: CP Rail Belle Plain Railway Spur. Retrieved from https://kpcldirtmovers.com/portfolio/cp-rail-belle-plaine-railway-spur/ This construction was intensive and caused many million cubic metres (tens of million cubic feet) of excavation in order to build the rail beds into farmland and surrounding valley walls. Excavation occurred in areas of the valley that affected aquifers and the Qu'Appelle River, as well as the addition of a steel tunnel to allow for traffic to travel over the spur. Another addition to the landscape was of culvert to mitigate flooding and manage drainage around the track structure.

Railway impacts

= CP Railway Belle Plaine Spur

= The Belle Plaine Spur was created to facilitate the transportation of potash from the K+S Bethune Legacy mine to various markets across the country. This was done by connecting the new railway from the mine near Findlater to the existing railway, known as the Kalium Spur, near the community of Belle Plaine.KPCL. (2015). CP rail belle plaine railway spur. nline webpage Retrieved from https://kpcldirtmovers.com/portfolio/cp-rail-belle-plaine-railway-spur/ While the construction of the spur did promise to create greater economic opportunities in terms of marketing potash, there were major environmental impacts on this section of the Qu'Appelle Valley. During construction, there were enormous amounts of dirt and earth moved to facilitate the rail bed. The rail bed was built by KPCL Dirt Movers who estimate that during the construction phase, of earth was excavated and there was of embankment construction.

= CP Railway Belle Plaine Spur impacts

= CP Railway chose the shortest and most direct route to the Legacy Mine in order to limit the potential impacts on local watersheds and archeological sites, as well as the smallest amount of communities, residents and sensitive environmental areas.Canadian Transportation Agency. (2015). Decision no. 118-R-2015. Decisions and determinations. Retrieved from https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/118-r-2015 In the project application, CP Rail points to the fact that half of the corridor is already being used as intensive cropland, which means that the native terrain and ecosystems of that area have already been disturbed.Canadian Pacific Railway. (2014). Application to construct railway infrastructure under section 98 of the Canada transportation act (1996, c.10). ''Canadian Transportation Agency.'' p. 1-44. By choosing this route, environmental impacts are arguably limited because they are developing in an area that is not considered sensitive. Both the South and North valley walls were cut into, including cuts over deep on the South wall, and up to deep on the North wall. Not only was vegetation and earth disturbed in this process, but a number of aquifers were cut through in the South valley wall. Cuts through aquifers within the valley posed issues of drainage and erosion, and the creation of steeper embankments caused by excavation and rail grade construction created slope instability in the valley. The natural state of the valley has been altered significantly, and with this came the need for infrastructure implementation in order to accommodate drainage and crossings during the construction phase and into the future. This included concrete box culverts that were installed on the bottom of the river valley in order to allow excess floodwaters to continue to flow uninhibited. A report was made in February 2015 that acknowledged 23 landowners that relied on the aquifers—5 of whom were listed as potentially affected by the cuts on the South slope of the Valley. In order to ensure that existing cultural sites which have not been already disturbed by agriculture and other industry were not affected, a Heritage Resources Impact Assessment (HRIA) was conducted. Upon assessment, experts determined that this site had low potential for the discovery of cultural sites due to the agricultural disruption that occurred prior. Two historically significant sites were found within the footprint of the spur, and under direction from the Saskatchewan Heritage Conservation Branch there has been additional archeological work performed which resulted in controlled excavation and recovery of historical material.

Agriculture

Agriculture has contributed to the increase of metal contamination in the Qu'Appelle watershed due to "agricultural tilling, irrigation, and use of chemicals."DOWNSTREAM FROM REGINA: Protecting and Restoring the Qu’Appelle Watershed. (2014). ''Seeking Sustainability.'' Retrieved from https://crowsnestecology.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/downstream-from-regina- protecting-and-restoring-the-quappelle-watershed/ This metal then accumulates in lake sediment, which will then impact the aquatic food webs within the lake. Peter Leavitt from the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

states that this accumulation of metal toxins has occurred in the eggs of small aquatic invertebrates for 100 years.

Gallery

File:Echo Lake Summer 08.jpg, Echo Lake, south shore File:Qu'Appelle Valley near Cutarm, Sask., circa 1910.jpeg , Qu'Appelle Valley near Cutarm, 1910 File: Echo Lake in the Qu'Appelle Valley.jpg, B-Say-Tah Point on Echo Lake in the Qu'Appelle Valley, a popular holiday resort and commuter community for Reginans since the 1880s File:theawesomequappellevalleykjfmartin.jpg, The Qu'Appelle Valley under cultivation in South East Saskatchewan

References

External links

* *
Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
{{Authority control Rivers of Manitoba Rivers of Saskatchewan Canadian folklore Culture of Saskatchewan Tributaries of the Assiniboine River Tributaries of Hudson Bay