Council for the Rural Municipality of Ritchot has now had its turn to hear plans for a regional water co-op in the southeast.

Landmark Planning and Design has been meeting with municipal councils, presenting the idea of building a large water source. The municipalities, south of the Trans Canada Highway and east of the Red River, would band together and build this water source which all members would benefit from.

Landmark Planning and Design says they envision a three round process. Round one involves planting the seed. In round two they will have followup discussions to establish a co-op framework, identify supply options and conduct field tests. Round three would involve discussions over field test results, evaluating options and then the co-op charter.

Ritchot Mayor Chris Ewen says a shared water source like this would prevent municipalities from fretting during dry seasons.

"It's almost like a backup idea," suggests Ewen. "Where, if we are running low one year that we have the opportunity to maybe share some of the water coming from the region."

Ewen says even though Ritchot has great water and healthy levels, this Plan B would provide another option during a dry year.

"There are always low seasons and spikes of water coming out through the ground and into our wells," adds Ewen.

The co-op would involve collaboration with many municipalities. Ewen says it is always tough to get the ball rolling when you have that many people at the table. However, he says through the Winnipeg Metro Region and Association of Manitoba Municipalities, Ritchot has been involved in a number of initiatives involving numerous heads.

"Once we start meeting and getting to know each other, we all really have one common interest and that's to make sure that we have a great community and municipality around us for our residents," adds Ewen.

According to the Mayor, it was good to hear the proposal from Landmark Planning and Design.

"They are very early in the stage of planning," he notes. "But I think the municipality as a whole is excited to continue to look through and look forward to opportunities that collaboratively bring us together as municipalities to help with the water concerns that we may have in the future."

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