Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association wins Water Canada innovation award
“We’re extremely proud of Aquanty, and of being a little group that took on a really big task,”
A demonstration of the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association’s Aquanty-powered forecasting tool, as it stood in 2021. Photo: Screen capture/Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association
We’re proud to share that the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) has been awarded the 2025 Early Adopter/Innovation Partnership Award from Water Canada for its pioneering work with Aquanty on hydrologic modelling in Manitoba.
The award recognizes outstanding collaborations that advance Manitoba and Canada’s water sector through innovation and partnership. MFGA earned this recognition for its leadership in applying Aquanty’s HydroGeoSphere-based modelling platform to better understand and manage water resources across agricultural landscapes.
Developed in collaboration with Aquanty, the MFGA hydrologic model simulates interactions between surface water, groundwater, and land use in the Assiniboine River Basin, helping communities prepare for extreme weather and adapt to a changing climate. What began as a tool for local water management has since evolved into a comprehensive flood forecasting and climate risk assessment system used by watershed districts, First Nations, and agricultural organizations.
The recognition comes as MFGA and Aquanty continue to build on their success through a new climate change impacts project, supported by $130,000 in funding through the provincial Climate Action Fund and part of a larger $2-million provincial investment in climate resilience. This new initiative, led by Manitoba’s Department of Environment and Climate Change, will extend the MFGA–Aquanty model into the Pembina Valley and Assiniboine West Watershed Districts, using future scenarios for 2050 and 2100 to develop localized climate risk maps and support long-term planning.
Together, MFGA and Aquanty are demonstrating how collaborative science and on-the-ground agricultural leadership can drive innovation in water management— helping Manitoba’s farmers and communities prepare for the future while protecting vital water resources.
Click here to read the article on the Manitoba Cooperator.
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