How a potential drought would affect highly coveted water in Alberta's south
'We can't just rely on hope,' says professor emeritus at University of Lethbridge
The list of counties declaring agricultural disasters in Alberta's south grew last summer, sometimes day by day.
- County of Forty Mile, July 12.
- Cardston County, July 17.
- Municipal District of Taber, July 18.
By mid-August, more than a dozen counties across Alberta had declared "agricultural disasters." Think of agricultural disaster declarations as a sort of signal flare shot into the sky by these municipalities, which had been dry for months, saying, "We need help."
And consider it a prelude to what's projected for this year. Multiple factors are projected to put pressure on something many take for granted in day-to-day life — water.
While the whole province will be affected, dry southern Alberta's agricultural sector will face particular challenges due to its reliance on irrigation, which supplies water via a network of canals.
For the semi-arid region's dryland farms, which grow crops without irrigation — relying instead on rainfall — projections are even more dire.
"We have a situation where we have a number of things that give us concern," said Stefan Kienzle, a professor emeritus of the department of geography and environment at the University of Lethbridge.
"The consequence of all this is, sadly, that in many areas in southern Alberta, dryland farming is becoming not economically viable anymore."
Those factors were highlighted by the Alberta Energy Regulator late last year: significantly reduced snowpack in the mountains and below-average precipitation over the past number of months, leading to extremely low reservoir levels and widespread dry conditions, especially in southern Alberta.
The overall warming trend with this year's strong El Niño event — paired with a forecast of below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures in the coming months — means it's hard to see how reservoirs will fill up to normal levels in the coming months, Kienzle says.
"No one knows what will happen this summer. I believe in the summer we will transition back into a normal or an La Niña condition, which could mean more rainfall. But I don't want to look that far," he said.
"And we can't just rely on hope. When we see a train coming from far away … I think we should be rather proactive than reactive."
Irrigation a 'must' in the region
The advent of irrigation in southern Alberta goes back more than a century, when work was completed on the first large-scale project in 1900. Today, irrigation reaches about 690,000 hectares in the province — the largest irrigated area in Canada.
Of that, 566,000 hectares are located within the province's 11 irrigation districts, which are located in southern Alberta along the South Saskatchewan River Basin. The Alberta Land Institute, a research facility based at the University of Alberta, estimated in 2017 that directly and indirectly, irrigation adds $940 million to the province's economy, with some 35,000 jobs tied to the practice.
Working through dry conditions is nothing new for Ed Vandenberg, who farms potatoes, dry beans and corn near Enchant, Alta., in what's known as Palliser's Triangle. It's a large area of semi-arid land that runs across southeast Alberta, much of southern Saskatchewan, as well as southwest Manitoba.
He says irrigation is a "must" in the region — not just for the work he does, but also for the french fry plants, beef slaughterhouses and canola plants that have become fixtures in the area.
Water from irrigation is provided to more than 40 municipalities and thousands of rural residents in Alberta, while businesses also receive water through the system to support their operations.
"You only have to travel to Montana to see the contrast, where they have not invested in irrigation. And they don't have the food processing, nor the vibrant farms. So that contrast is really sharp," Vandenberg said.
But here's where this year's challenges around water really come into focus, as irrigation is a significant user of the province's water. Irrigation licenses total 3.5 billion cubic metres per year and make up to 60 to 65 per cent of the province's water usage, according to a 2017 report from the Alberta Land Institute.
Given the nature of southern Alberta, the use of water is restricted through the issuing of "water licences" by the Alberta government. These permits are already fully allocated, and those who want to buy licences must purchase them from existing licence owners in a system that has been in place since 1894.
Referred to as "first in time, first in right," in essence it means that, for instance, an operation that received a water licence 120 years ago would receive water first relative to any that received a licence 20 years ago.
In a period of drought, one could see how this would poses challenges, profesor Kienzle noted.
"You can imagine that people who have had water licences for over 100 years, they don't want to give those up. They would say, 'No, no, no. You can't take my licence away. This is my right,'" he said.
One hundred per cent of southern Alberta's water has already been allocated.
"So the question is, what is the most beneficial for the province? For the average Albertan? And that is a big task that the government has to tackle to prioritize those licences."
In past periods of drought, irrigation districts in Alberta decided they would voluntarily share more water with industry and municipalities, rather than farmers.
But there was no law in place that forced them to do that, said Kienzle. And if irrigators don't see full reservoirs this year, they are likely to face water restrictions that could have an impact on their overall yield, he said.
"Private people at home, we will be affected, the farmers will be affected, the irrigators will be affected," he said.
"Industry may also be affected by having to reduce their water, and that may have an impact on their productivity as well. And maybe even on the employment rates."
Environment minister says reviews are planned
With drought on the horizon, Alberta's environment minister has been reaching out to municipalities with requests to develop a water shortage plan, monitor water intake, and review their water licences.
In an interview with CBC News, Rebecca Schulz said discussions so far between her department and the irrigation districts have been positive, adding that solutions will need to be nimble.
"What it's going to look like in each area might be different. And that's why we work with our partners to come up with maybe more specific plans for each user and in different areas of the province … it's not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach," she said.
Getting through the next number of months is the department's first priority, she said, but the government does want to conduct a number of reviews. Those include studying the potential of developing storage projects for water across the province and undertaking a review of the water allocation system.
"We'll have to do some engagement and gather some feedback from all of our major water users on what's working well, what's not," she said regarding water allocation.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has said it will contact water licence holders in the South Saskatchewan River Basin to get estimates of their 2024 water demand.
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