Monday, October 6, 2025
Minister Responsible for the Water Security Agency (WSA) Daryl Harrison has announced that three major infrastructure projects have been completed around Rafferty Dam this summer, part of a $15-million investment to strengthen water security and flood protection in southeastern Saskatchewan.
The upgrades include more than $10 million in repairs to the dam’s spillway underdrainage system, which will improve functionality and safety during high-flow events. The work involved new drainage piping, a pumping station, and erosion control measures along the diversion channel.
Another $2.5 million was directed to upgrades at the Boundary to Rafferty Diversion Channel, while the Rural Municipality of Estevan received $2.5 million to rehabilitate an 11-kilometre stretch of Rafferty Road between Highway 39 and Highway 18.
“Rafferty Dam is an important piece of infrastructure, serving and protecting various communities and industries in southeastern Saskatchewan,” said Harrison. “It is important for our government to be proactive and make these necessary investments to ensure long-term safety and water supply security for the region.”
Estevan Mayor Anthony Sernick called the investment “a strong commitment” to residents and businesses, while RM of Estevan Reeve Jason LeBlanc said the projects will extend the dam’s benefits more than 30 years after it was first built.
The Rafferty Reservoir, created in 1994 by damming the Souris River, supplies water to the City of Estevan and Shand Power Station and provides downstream flood protection in both Saskatchewan and North Dakota.
The work was part of WSA’s 10-Year Infrastructure Rehabilitation Plan. The agency says it will invest about $38 million in 2025–26 to advance more than 60 additional water infrastructure projects across the province.
