Council for the RM of Ritchot has decided to spend some money to improve a local drain. The East Ritchot Drain runs about two kilometres south of Provincial Road 210, between Highway #59 and PR 200.

Mayor Bob Stefaniuk says it's a very low spot and as a result this impacts a lot of grain farmers who have been suffering extensive crop loss over the last few years. Though this year has been an exception because of how dry it's been.

Mayor Stefaniuk notes "they (farmers) wanted to have some remedial action taken and they were willing to do it themselves." But council decided to step in and pay the entire cost. Mayor Stefaniuk notes they ended up doing it as a local improvement "and that makes it much better for everybody." He adds it's a complicated project because it involves PR 210 and the railway. The project will cost Ritchot about $1.1 million.

"It's been an issue for a long, long time," says Mayor Stefaniuk. In 2010 there was significant crop loss. He notes rains last year "decimated a lot of their crops and that sort of got them to approach the municipality to see what could be done and then out of this process grew this local improvement."

Mayor Stefaniuk says work could begin as early as this fall, and if not this year then next spring. If says it could probably be completed in one year.