Premier Danielle Smith Allocates $220 Million for Southern Alberta Irrigation Pipelines

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson announced on Monday the commitment of $220 million in provincial infrastructure matching funding to convert two hundred kilometers of open earthen irrigation canals into closed, pressurized underground pipelines across the St. Mary River, Bow River, and Eastern Irrigation Districts in Southern Alberta.

The investment represents a major expansion of Alberta's Irrigation Rehabilitation Program, partnering with farmer-run irrigation districts to modernize century-old gravity-fed canal networks that lose substantial volumes of water each summer to evaporation, weed transpiration, and ground absorption.

Drought-Proofing Alberta's Agri-Food Corridor The $220 million package finances:

• 200 Kilometers of Large-Diameter HDPE Pipelines: $145 million replacing open ditches with buried high-density polyethylene pipelines operating under natural gravity pressure.
• Automated Pipeline Flow Telemetry & Metering: $45 million deploying digital pressure transducers, automated shutoff valves, and real-time farmer mobile app water scheduling.
• Off-Stream Storage Reservoir Upgrades: $30 million reinforcing embankments and installing intake control structures at balancing reservoirs across the South Saskatchewan River Basin.

"Southern Alberta's agri-food corridor is a premier economic powerhouse for our province, and water is the lifeblood of our agricultural success," Premier Danielle Smith said during an announcement in Lethbridge. "By investing $220 million to convert open canals into modern underground pipelines, we are conserving over 150 million cubic meters of water every year, drought-proofing our farms, and creating thousands of jobs across Alberta's agricultural supply chain."

Irrigation district board chairs, crop grower associations, and food processing corporations commended the provincial funding, pointing out that pressurized underground pipelines deliver reliable water on demand without requiring farmers to operate expensive diesel booster pumps in their fields.