The Plum River/Aux Marais Watershed is one of the few in Manitoba that doesn't have an integrated management plan, and the Pembina Valley Conservation District (PVCD) is looking to change that.

Municipalities within the watershed are being asked to support the PVCD's request to have the Province develop a plan that would improve the region over a ten year period.

"We still have to get a letter from each one of those partners because the Province needs to know that everybody is committed to moving forward," said PVCD Manager Cliff Greenfield, noting not all of the municipalities in the area are members of the conservation district.

"In Manitoba, we are limited in our funding, so unless we work together we're not spending money wisely," he added.

The integrated strategy would include partners from Darlingford to Emerson-Franklin and focus on water flows from the Pembina Hills in the east to the Red River in the west, including the Dead Horse Creek and the Hespler Drain. Greenfield added water flowing from the United States into southern Manitoba is also something to consider.

The plan would examine items like the quantity and quality of future drinking water, surface water flows, soil health, and farm productivity. In addition, it would consider how Manitoba's Climate and Green Plan and the provincial drought plan apply to the area.

Greenfield said the hope is to bring in other agencies to this process as well, including NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and provincial departments like Sustainable Development and Manitoba Agriculture.

"We hope...that they would see this as if this was their plan as well," he noted.

If the project moves forward, it is expected to take about two full years to complete.