A few significant projects were undertaken this past year or are in the works for the year ahead for the Municipality of Rhineland.
In a year-end interview, Reeve Don Wiebe touched on some of the highlights in terms of both the priorities and challenges being faced by the municipality.
Wiebe felt Rhineland overall had a good year in 2025.
Rhineland Reeve Don Wiebe has high hopes for the year ahead
“We got quite a bit done … a good number of projects were completed.”
He highlighted federal funding that came through the Prairie Grain Roads program.
“This project involved upgrading about 30 miles of municipal roads,” he said, noting particularly Road 3 West and Road 9 West. “More specifically, the project consisted of the installation of drain tile on the edge of the road and reinforcement of the road base.”
In addition, there were improvements to the entrances to the industrial park as well, and another key project was the installation of new bridge across the South Buffalo Creek.
“As a result of severe water damage a few years ago, and the cost of that new bridge is between $3.7 and $3.8 million. That’s been completed and is now open.”
Another significant project involved improvements to the sewage lagoons for Plum Coulee involving a new specific enzyme formula for the treatment process.
“This application was quite successful,” said Wiebe. “The mechanical process for sludge removal is much more difficult and costly.”
Work was also completed on a new water line in the area of the village of Blumenort that he noted “will help stabilize the water pressure for local residents.”
And no less significant for the municipality was the construction of a new storage shed to house municipality’s equipment.
“This is a huge benefit in maintaining and protecting our equipment from the elements.
“So 2025 was a very busy year for our public works department … making roads, cleaning ditches, maintaining drains and maintain the infrastructure,” he added. “I believe we have a very dedicated staff, and they have done an incredible job.”
Wiebe then looked ahead to a number of key priorities for 2026.
“We have a number of projects that are in the planning stage,” he said. “The Plum Coulee lagoon is close to full being at capacity, and Rhineland has launched a study to upgrade the lagoon.”
There is also a water line project in the works as well as construction of a new reservoir that would serve both Gnadenthal and the Blumenort colony
Wiebe also cited the importance of work on a crossing of the South Buffalo at Road 7 which was washed out a couple years ago.
“Hopefully, we can start that project next year,” he said, adding another priority is a crossing at Altbergthal because “it is in very poor shape.”
In the area of economic development, Wiebe looked at the building permit statistics for the past year as a key indicator of what’s to come.
“The value of building permits was down from this [past] year to the previous year, but that last year was kind of an exceptional year, so it’s still very good.”
He noted the value of the development had dropped from about $35 million to about $30 million, although the number of building permits actually increased.
Looking ahead, Wiebe noted there is some keen interest in residential development on the east side of Plum Coulee.
“We’re pushing very hard on the lagoon study because to accommodate those two developments, we need a bigger lagoon, quite a bit bigger lagoon.”
Wiebe also cited the importance of working collaboratively through such means as Altona Rhineland Economic Development.
“We’ve also been working regionally … the highlight of regional co-operation is the municipal commitment of $15 million to the Pembina Valley Water Co-op,” he said. “This helped to leverage recent provincial and federal support of $22 million … it will certainly help us to meet the potable water needs for our growing region.”
Meanwhile, Wiebe said they also try to continue to advocate on other issues of concern to local residents.
“We are certainly advocating for more doctors,” he cited as an example. “And Rhineland is sensing growing needs with respect to affordable housing … income disparity, rising food costs and income insecurity … what is needed is a collaboration with all partners to address these concerns.”
Wiebe said they will continue to work with the province in such areas as maintenance of provincial drains and restoration of low level crossings as prime examples, and he hopes there will be some progress in the year ahead.
“They are way, way behind in their drain maintenance, and we are trying to work with them and work collaboratively,” he said. “We can also help be part of the solution. We can help get it done because it’s really critical.”
Wiebe finally also touched on the importance of being involved with the watershed district.
“We continue to support this because we think it is in our best interest to have water managed on a watershed basis,” he said. “We are trying to be very active in supporting those efforts.”
