b'IRRIGATIONUpdating the Irrigation System Alberta is in the midst of an almost billion dollar irrigation system modernization project.FOR MORE THAN a century, southern Albertas irrigation system has kept crops growing no matter the weather. Over the years, the irrigation districts have updated their systems to keep them running. However, now through a new partnership with the province, the irrigation infrastructure is undergoing a massive update.Irrigation is in the fabric of southern Alberta. And this just helps us manage a really important resource in a very effective and responsible way, David Westwood, general manager of the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), explains in a phone interview. Our whole mandatethrough when we expand and want to be able to add acres to southern Albertawill be that were doing it with the same or even less water than we have been currently using.There are 13 irrigation districts within Alberta, mainly concentrated in the southern part of the province, covering 1.5 million acres with 42 storage reservoirs. A report from the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association published in November 2021 titled the Economic Value of Albertas Irrigation Districts, found that between 2011 to 2018, irrigation from the area annually generated $5.4 billion to provincial GDP, $3.2 billion in labour income and supported about 46,000 full-time jobs.It was also found irrigation district land represent only 4.4 per cent of Albertas cultivated land base but generate 27 per cent of the provinces total primary agricultural sales and contribute 28 per cent to Albertas total agri-food GDP. The study also examined the impact of irrigation infrastructure funding on government revenues. It was found that for every dollar invested by the Alberta government on irrigation district related activities added $3.56 in revenue to the provincial government.The ProjectIn the spring of 2020, the Alberta government put out a call for stimulus project ideas. At the time, irrigation districts in the province had been planning various upgrades to their systems, but when they saw the callout they realized they could complete their projects with government support on a shorter timeline.The districts were asked to submit projects they could do. We were given the guidelines of shovel ready or near shovel ready The eight mile lateral irrigation modernization pipeline project in the St. Mary (projects) that we could start doing fairly quickly. A lot of our River Irrigation District was completed in winter 2019/2020.districts had these projects on the drawing board, Westwood PHOTOS: ST. MARY RIVER IRRIGATION DISTRICT explains.8seed.ab.ca'