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Water export idea for Manitoba should be considered: Advocate says politicians refusing to even discuss huge money-making proposal

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 30, 2008 at 6:51 am

From the Edmonton Journal, a commentary written by a research associate from Canada’s Frontier Centre for Public Policy, who notes that the government has passed resolutions barring fresh water exports, but he feels the matter should at least be discussed amongst Manitoban’s themselves. He points out:

If the future of Manitoba were the fuel indicator on a dashboard, it would be blinking and buzzing. We depend on the generosity of other provinces for more than one-third of our provincial budget. Over the last decade, this has amounted to more than $20 billion. And yet, where are we?

During the same period, the number of people living below the poverty line has increased, crime has increased, our health care has deteriorated and our universities are crumbling like oatmeal cookies.

An objective outsider might say: “Have you tried anything else? Have you questioned the notion that fresh water is priceless?”

Given the cost of desalinated water, this writer sees a system, much like our State Water Project, that could transport water out of the Canadian province to the U.S., and he gives specific details on how such a system could be built. It could be very profitable for Manitoba, according to his calculations:

On the revenue side, based on the Tampa costs [charging the same amount as Tampa is paying for water from their desalination facility], we could realize $3.3 billion per year (6.6 cents times five billion cubic metres). Profit, if all costs were deducted, would be $1.334 billion. However, if the United States carried the cost of the project, as is usually the case for such strategic infrastructure, the profit would be an impressive $2.49 billion every year.

It would be enough to easily wipe out Manitoba’s equalization handout which was $2.06 billion in the most recent budget. On a bigger scale, this new wealth would be sufficient to wipe out more than two-thirds of all federal transfers to Manitoba, which come in at a whopping $3.61 billion this year.

Our best outcome might be to sell the water contract to a pension fund. The Canada Pension Fund is very active in this area, having acquired the London water utility in 2006. At an estimated capitalization rate of five per cent, the contract could be worth at least $26.6 billion in the first scenario to $49.8 billion in the second.

What could be better than a pipeline financed by the United States, owned by the Canada Pension Plan and an unending source of revenue that would be a bold, giant step towards ending Manitoba’s hanger-on status in the federation?

At least, we should be allowed to think about it.

Read the full text of this article from the Edmonton Journal by clicking here.

June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Grandiose water plans

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