Instelling

Buffalo Lake Water Conservation Association

1933-?

Buffalo Pound Lake was also known as Buffalo Lake and High Pound Lake. It is the water source for the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw and for the potash mining operations in the Belle Plaine area.

The lake was shallow and the broad downstream end allowed spring runoff to quickly drain. During the late 1920's, a committee was formed to investigate building a dam. It wasn’t until 1933, with a combination of drought and large government projects attempting to stimulate the economy and provide employment, that a formal association formed to promote the building of a dam in the Qu’Appelle River Valley to raise and stabilize water levels in Buffalo Pound Lake.

The Buffalo Lake Water Conservation Association was formed at a meeting in the Grant Hall Hotel on August 9, 1933. The first directors were: W.G. Ross - President, Richard Loney - Vice President, and George D. Mackie - Secretary/Treasurer. Petitions were circulated and research was done. At some later date, Richard Loney served as chair.
Arguments made in support of the project included the development of a resort for fishing and camping, employment, irrigation, a steady water supply and flood prevention.
During the Fall of 1935, a survey party spent a month surveying topography and profiles of proposed dam sites.

It was clear from comments made by government that these projects must show an agricultural benefit. According to the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), the balance of the values are secondary. As agriculture was not the primary benefit of this project, it was not supported.

A dam and control structure was built by the PFRA in 1939 to control the outflow of the lake and in 1967 the lake became part of the water diversion from the Lake Diefenbaker/Qu’Appelle River Dam project.