The province has concluded negotiations with major water licensees and is now working on the largest water-sharing agreement in the province’s 118-year history.
On Friday, the province released the first details of the four agreements.
They zeroed in on the major water users in the mainstem and upper tributaries of the Red Deer River sub-basin, the Bow River sub-basin and the Oldman River sub-basin.
These sub-basins are part of the larger South Saskatchewan River Basin, which flows across the Alberta-Saskatchewan border and serves the water needs of four of Alberta’s largest cities: Red Deer City, Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
Planned water reduction
As part of the agreement, participating cities will use 5% to 10% less water than expected in the summer of 2024 if no measures are taken.
These cities include:
- City of Calgary.
- City of Lethbridge.
- Medicine Hat.
- Lethbridge County.
- Red Deer.
- Red Deer County.
- Town of Drumheller.
- Town of Stettler.
- Warner County.
Others, such as Airdrie, get their water under those licenses and won’t sign directly, said a spokesperson for Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz.
Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schultz said the voluntary agreement will allow municipalities, industry and irrigation districts to reduce water use.
Nicole Newton, Calgary’s natural environment and adaptation manager, said at a news conference Friday that the city will be implementing a water conservation advisory effective immediately.
“If these protocols are implemented, we are committed to reducing water use by 5 to 10 percent,” Newton said.
“That may include tightening our restrictions. But Calgarians are responding to our requests and starting to conserve water. We’re seeing that through our requests.”
Water restrictions will be implemented sometime this summer, Newton said. A bylaw update will be presented to City Council in June outlining the details of the steps.
According to the city, it will include the introduction of permanent and phased outdoor watering schemes to help support the transition to outdoor water restrictions.
Risk of severe drought
Water is there high demand Located in semi-arid southern Alberta. The region has experienced several years of drought, with El Niño-type weather forecasts calling for warmer weather ahead. This leads to the risk of severe drought.
The province noted that recent snowfall has helped, but winter snowpack remains below average, with many rivers running below normal and multiple reservoirs operating at below normal capacity. The Oldman River sub-basin remains of particular concern.
Schultz told CBC News in an interview Thursday that the activation of those protocols will depend on reservoir levels, river flows and snowpack. Data on peak snowpack levels are expected to be released later this month.
“This prepares us to respond if we do get into a severe drought later this year,” Schultz said.
The province is confident the goals set out in the agreement can be achieved without impacting indoor water use.
The agreement also states that industrial operations and irrigation districts have agreed to reduce water use.
The province says participating irrigation districts will use less water and allow other districts to get their water first and then use the remaining licensed water.
The St. Mary’s River Irrigation District said at its annual shareholder meeting last week that irrigators will make half what they would in a good year. This comes as drought conditions loom and Alberta still plans to move forward with a nearly $1 billion plan to expand irrigation in the province.
For other industrial users, Schultz said there are agreements in place to essentially lower water levels to levels needed to maintain operations.
The province has also engaged with smaller junior water license holders to outline what is included in the agreement and what next steps may be required of them.
‘Unprecedented’ negotiations
Last December, Schultz Letter to city leaders, asking them to find ways to reduce water use in the event of a possible drought.The province has introduced what is called ‘Unprecedented’ water-sharing negotiations In January, negotiations with major water license holders began for the first time since 2001.
Schultz said the 2001 negotiations, reached during another severe drought, could serve as a road map for this year’s negotiations. At the dawn of the new millennium, voluntary water sharing became a strategy.
“We can fundamentally prevent [Alberta] Bring all water users to the table and avoid an emergency,” Schultz said.
“We’re seeing the same thing. They’re just rolling up their sleeves and absolutely willing to help.”
Environment Secretary Rebecca Schultz said experience with previous drought years had led to the government not taking a “top-down” approach.
Schultz said the Alberta of 2024 is not entirely similar to the Alberta of 2001, which had a larger population and higher demands on water allocations. That’s what led the province to call this round of negotiations the largest water-sharing agreement in Alberta’s history.
Why share water voluntarily?
To understand why water sharing in the South is done on a voluntary basis, we need to understand the water priority system that has been in place in Alberta since 1894.
Water use in Alberta is managed by “water licenses” issued by the provincial government.
Since 2006, the Bow, Oldman and South Saskatchewan subbasins have all stopped receiving new surface water allocations.
this A priority system known as “first come, first served” confers seniority To those who have a water license in the first place. For example, a business that received a license 120 years ago will have access to water first compared to a business that received a license 20 years ago.
In practice, this means that license holders must voluntarily share water during periods of drought. But given the unique makeup of southern Alberta, the system raises concerns.
“What I’ve been thinking about lately is, I think this year is going to be good. People have made deals. They’re voluntary, but I’m sure they’re going to stick to it,” Evan Davis said. Research group professor.
“However, it does make you wonder what will happen in the coming years if the drought persists or worsens.”
Davis noted that, by and large, irrigators are Alberta’s premium water license holders. The province has the largest irrigated area in Canada, reaching approximately 690,000 hectares, of which 566,000 hectares are located in southern Alberta along the South Saskatchewan River Basin.
The situation has led some irrigation districts to drastically reduce water allocations.Earlier this month, the St. Mary River Irrigation District, Canada’s largest irrigation district, said Farmers will get half The amount they receive in years of plenty.
“They were hit quite hard by being asked to take a 50 per cent cut year after year when they were legally entitled to draw from the licensing quota,” Davis said.
“But I don’t know what the alternative is. Alberta has been talking about how to allocate water more economically for decades, so I think if this continues for many years, we might see those discussions start to happen. .
According to the Province of Alberta, there are 25,000 water license holders in the province.
first in line
Asked whether this year’s negotiations are focused on the future of the Just-In-Time system or more focused on the coming months, Schultz said the province is trying to consider both issues.
“We want to respect ‘time first, rights first,'” Schultz said.
“I think when we’re facing a potential emergency, that’s not the time to create additional confusion and uncertainty. We do want to respect those older and larger water permit agreements.”
Environment Secretary Rebecca Schultz discusses whether this year’s negotiations touch on the future of the first-come, first-served system.
At the same time, Schutz said, the negotiations also brought some lessons. Moving water distribution online has painted a clearer picture.
“Who owns these grants? Are they being used? Are we encouraging water conservation? Can we do better?” Schultz said.
“We know that as our population grows, and as our industries continue to grow and create jobs for those who choose Alberta, we need to ensure that water is allocated to the maximum extent possible.”
That means encouraging conservation, examining storage options and expanding groundwater monitoring, among other measures, Schultz said.
To Davis, it appears the province has entered into important negotiations with major water license holders.
“Overall, the process is being done well and I just urge them to think about this with a pessimistic mindset and an optimistic mindset. What’s the worst case scenario that we could see?” Davis said.
“This is a political process, not a scientific exercise. So when we look back on things, I’m sure we can see there were better ways to do things. But that doesn’t mean we had those options when decisions were made. .
Some people don’t trust the government’s approach to water sharing.
In a press release sent to media Friday afternoon, the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) said the response plan prioritizes industry and irrigation over the environment. AWA is calling on the government to declare a Stage 5 state of emergency under the Provincial Water Act. Stage five is the highest stage listed.
“We need to stop treating water as a commodity only for human consumption, otherwise there won’t be enough water to sustain our ecosystems,” AWA conservation specialist Phillip Meintzer said in a press release.
According to the province, the agreements involve 37 of southern Alberta’s largest and oldest water licensees, accounting for 90 per cent of water allocated in the Bow and Oldman watersheds, and 70 per cent of water allocated in the Red Deer River watershed. %.
These protocols are designed to adapt on the fly as circumstances change. Actual water volumes under the agreement will be updated every two weeks based on the latest supply forecasts, according to the province.
The province said it will actively implement these agreements in the coming months by monitoring the situation, developing water supply forecasts, and optimizing reservoir operations.
This story is part of CBC Calgary’s ongoing series,during droughtexplores drought conditions in Alberta and how best to deal with them.
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