The Water Security Agency says it needs more information from a proposal to divert water around the Quill Lakes area.

The proposal from Quill Lakes Watershed Association must include hydrologic analysis and modelling, water quality analysis and monitoring, land control and consultation, spokesman Patrick Boyle said. As a result, the WSA has not issued construction or operation approval, or an aquatic habitat protection permit.

“Once those things are satisfied from our end then we can have a look at the project and see where it goes from there. But to date the application hasn't met all those requirements and we need some more information from the Quill Lakes Watershed Association before we can get to that decision.”

Water management issues can take years to resolve, Boyle said. The salinity of the Quill Lakes flooding plus the potential for a spill and the livelihood of local producers means it’s one of the most complex situations in North America, he said.

“It’s very complex because there no easy solution that’s a quick fix that could happen overnight.”

Quill Lakes Watershed Association Chair Kerry Holderness has said the plan to redirect surface water from Kutawagan Lake and Pel Lake towards Last Mountain Lake won't send saline water there.

"The project in itself is very small compared to the water bodies it's going to. In conjunction, if you do it at the right time when the creeks are flowing in the spring, the dilution factor should probably fix this before it gets to Last Mountain Lake," he told Bolt FM this week.

The Quill Lakes have become oversaturated with dissolved solids as water dissolved year after year instead of flowing out, he said.