The Intermountain Conservation District has started construction on two water retention dams located in the Municipality of Gilbert Plains.
IMCD manager Jeff Thiele says work began last week on the two dams on the Mineral Creek, which drains into the Wilson River, with the goal to reduce the peak flow of the spring runoff by about 10 per cent.
"What we're planning on doing is holding back about 10 acre-feet of water. After spring runoff, it's going to be slowly released into the waterway, and the idea is to slow down the peak flow of the runoff."
Thiele says these two dams are the first of several that are currently in the works.
"These are the two that are under construction. We have a number of other ones in the planning stages. Most of them are out in Gilbert Plains and Grandview, out that way closer to the Duck Mountains and the Riding Mountains. On the steeper sloping lands is where we're targeting most of those."
Thiele says building of the dams will reduce some of the erosion costs, road washouts and culvert damages that have been happening for the last several years.
