The province has named Melvin Klassen to the Red River Basin Commission board of directors.

The former mayor of Altona fills a position that has been vacant for about three years.

The Red River Basin Commission is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that works to create and implement a comprehensive, integrated basin-wide vision, builds consensus on issues of watershed management, and speaks with a unified voice for the Red River Basin.

The commission’s board of directors has members from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Manitoba.

Klassen says the RRBC plays an important role in the management of water resources throughout the Basin in all four jurisdictions.

"I consider this appointment fairly important ... and what I've sensed is that everyone on the Basin board wants to make sure the Red River doesn't just work for one jurisdiction, but that it works for all areas."

The Manitoba government provides an annual grant of $100,000 to support the efforts of the RRBC.

According to a news release issued on Wednesday, the province states that Manitoba is the farthest downstream jurisdiction in the watershed and benefits greatly from work done to address flooding, drought, watershed management, and water quality protection.

Meantime, Municipality of Rhineland Reeve, Don Wiebe, has been named a South Chapter Director on the board.