Prairie farmers welcomed the snow that came in last weekend's storm, but say much more is needed, and more importantly in the form of rain this spring.
Despite easing some of the concerns about soil moisture, the snow doesn't contain a lot of water and with the bitterly cold weather that followed the snowfall earlier this week, any melting that occurs when temperatures start to warm up tomorrow, the water will simply run off. That's good for sloughs and dugouts but won't do much for the soil. In some areas of southern Alberta, reservoirs went dry last summer and without good rainfall and runoff from the mountains this spring, many people will be forced to bring water in again by truck, in some cases at a cost of up to 8,000 dollars a day.
Meanwhile, the Alberta government announced this week, it's accepting applications across the province from folks who want to design and construct projects that protect from flooding and drought. Environment Minister Rebecca Shultz says the government will pay out more than 120 million dollars over the next few years. Tyler Gandam, the president of Alberta Municipalities says he welcomes the program, saying it gives local and regional government the support they need to strengthen their response to drought and floods.
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