Report of the International Joint Commission Canada and United States on the COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT of the PEMBINA RIVER BASIN OCTOBER 1967 VIII THE PLAN OF COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT. Supplemental Works.. Operation of Joint Project Works. Cost of Joint Project Works.......... Benefits and Separable Economic Gains.. CONCLUSIONS.. RECOMMENDATIONS. APPENDIX.. Text of Reference. Membership of Board. Participating Agencies. Persons Presenting Briefs or Testimony. FIGURES Figure 1. Pembina River Basin... Figure 2. Pembina Dam... Figure 3. Pembilier Dam.. Figure 4. Benefits of the Development.. ILLUSTRATIONS Pembina River west of Walhalla.. Low flow conditions on the Pembina River. Sugar beet refinery at Drayton.. Flooded agricultural land. Pembina, North Dakota during a spring flood. Recreational facilities at Rock Lake.. Water treatment plant at Neche... Water tower at Gretna...... SECTION I INTRODUCTION The Canada-United States boundary from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean is almost 4,000 miles long. Many water problems inevitably arise along the common frontier. This report is concerned with one of the problems in the mid-west where precipitation is low and irregular and where reservoirs on transboundary streams could store water or control floods. Projects could be undertaken unilaterally by each country or on a cooperative basis by the two countries. In the latter case apportionment of water and sharing of costs would become important matters to be agreed upon by the two Governments. In 1948, the Governments of Canada and the United States requested the International Joint Commission to investigate and report upon the existing and future uses of the waters of common interest to Canada and the United States in the Souris and Red Rivers Basins, and if considered advisable, to recommend an apportionment of such waters. The Pembina River, being a tributary of the Red River, was included in the area investigated. Studies of the Pembina River Basin were undertaken unilaterally in each country in the decade prior to 1960. Such studies disclosed that potential multi-purpose developments for flood control, water supply or irrigation in either country would not be justifiable economically on the basis of benefits in one country alone. The International Joint Commission in the course of its studies under the Souris-Red Rivers Reference of 1948 instructed its International Souris-Red Rivers Engineering Board to prepare a preliminary report on the feasibility of a cooperative undertaking by both countries to develop the water resources of the Pembina River. The Commission, on the basis of the resulting report, recommended to the Governments of Canada and the United States, in a letter dated April 12, 1961, that they consider transmitting to the Commission a reference specifically pertaining to the waters of the Pembina River Basin. On April 3, 1962, the Governments of Canada and the United States requested the International Joint Commission to investigate and report on measures to develop the water resources of the Pembina River Basin in |