In 1936, the construction of the irrigation works and a dam across the Frenchman River were undertaken near the village of Val Marie. The storage capacity of the reservoir is 11,470 cubic decametres and the area presently under irrigation is 1,730 hectares. The costs during the development period of 1935-1944 were $46,500, and up to 1978, $275,900 was spent on reconstruction and improvements to the project works.
In 1939, another dam was built just above the reservoir created by the Val Marie dam. This reservoir stores 4,190 cubic decametres and requires pumping to the main canal, to irrigate 1,110 hectares of land. The costs during the development period 1939-1950 were $124,100, and up to 1978, $117,400 had been spent on reconstruction and improvements to the project works.
In 1937, a 2,470 cubic decametre reservoir was built on the Frenchman River. The area presently irrigated, lying immediately east of the town of Eastend, is 1,180 hectares. The costs during the development period 1937-1944 were $72,400 and up to 1978, $226,100 was spent on reconstruction and improvements.
This project is located immediately north and east of the town of Consul and is in the vicinity of the railpoint of Nashlyn. It contains 1,390 hectares of irrigable land. The water for irrigation is supplied from two diversion weirs on Battle Creek, with Cypress Lake serving as the storage reservoir. From 1946-1950, development costs were $74,200. Up to 1978, $105,100 had been spent on reconstruction and improvements to the project works.
This project comprises three separate areas: lands immediately west and north of the town of Maple Creek, and two parcels adjacent to the creek, lying some 24 and 30 kilometres north of the town. These comprise a total of 1,620 hectares of irrigable land. Water for irrigation of the upper portion is obtained from the Dawnie, McDougald and Harris Reservoirs, which have a total storage of 19,240 cubic decametres. The lower portions obtain their water from junction Reservoir, which has a capacity of 10,850 cubic decametres. Original development costs during the period 1940-1944 were $98,700, and up to 1978, some $151,100 was spent on reconstruction and improvements to project works.
The primary storage for this project is Duncairn Dam, constructed in 1943 on Swift Current Creek near the hamlet of Duncairn. The storage capacity of this facility is 103,610 cubic decametres. Water is diverted from the creek into a canal, near the city of Swift Current. It is moved 35 kilometres to the off-stream Highfield Reservoir, which has a capacity of 14,920 cubic decametres. From there it is taken a further 35 kilometres to the Rush Lake area, where 2,210 hectares of land are irrigated. In addition, these canals and reservoirs serve the Waldeck and Herbert Water Users' District with water to irrigate roughly 1,210 hectares of land.
PFRA costs during the development period 1945-1953 were $309,600.