The collection of a $1 an acre levy on irrigated lands located outside certified irrigation districts remains a concern.
An estimated 150,000 acres of non-district irrigation is subject to collection of a levy by the Irrigation Crop Development Centre.
The levy will compensate for a phased-in reduction of $100,000 from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Problems with collection arise because ICDC doesn’t know who the non-district irrigators are and can’t get access to the landowner names.
Neither the ministry of agriculture database of 165,000 acres nor the Saskatchewan Water Security data base of 145,000 acres can release names because of the Privacy Act.
Irrigators at the annual conference of the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association (SIPA) in Moose Jaw were asked for suggestions.
An idea to have rural municipalities provide names was shot down as RMs do not know who is irrigating.
A suggestion to have names of owners with water allocations won’t work because ICDC won’t know if land is transferred.
One irrigator suggested a simple change to law making it mandatory for anyone with an irrigation licence to allow sharing of information with the levy collector.
SIPA has discussed this issue for two years.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
