Twenty-five organizations representing thousands of citizens from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba recently released a vision for water in the Prairie Water Directive. The release of the report coincided with World Water Day on March 22, whose theme this year is sharing water across borders and outlines recommendations for water security by 2050. The report conducted an assessment of each of the three Prairie Provinces and the federal government in a number of different areas.

• To sign on and learn more visit www.prairiewaterwatch.ca
• Read the press release
• Read the report's executive summary

The Directive recognizes that Alberta is the source of water for millions of people across the Canadian Prairies including the larger Arctic Drainage Basin draining 25 percent of the total area of Canada and the Hudson Bay Basin which drains 40 percent of the Prairie Provinces.

Giving priority to people and the environment

In 2050, the lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater of the Prairie Provinces support sustainable communities and sustainable livelihoods within healthy, ecologically vibrant watersheds. Water is valued as finite and precious—as the foundation of life for all species. All recognize the sacredness of water.

The Directive reflects widespread public support that basic human needs and ecosystem health should be prioritized in water allocation schemes. Alberta's system gives priority of water use based exclusively on the date of the license application—this system is based on the First-In-Time, First-In-Right (FITFIR) principle—rather than prioritizing human water needs and the environment. Manitoba operates on a modified FITFIR licensing system that assigns priority to domestic water use, and Saskatchewan recently abandoned FITFR altogether.

Safe drinking water

While many take water for granted, laws and water infrastructure do not currently guarantee clean water for everyone. As of March 31, 2008, there were approximately 200 boil water advisories in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba combined, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ, May issue), largely in small municipalities. This figure does not include water problems in First Nations communities where 53 advisories were issued in First Nations communities across Canada during the same time, according to CMAJ. Alberta received the highest assessments for any of the three Prairie Provinces for high treatment standards, contaminant standards, accredited labs for water quality testing, and operator certification.

Source water protection

While Alberta ranks high for standards associated with treatment facilities, it falls behind Manitoba and Saskatchewan with respect to source protection planning. The best way to ensure clean water is to keep it clean in the first place. Protecting the quality of our drinking water from source to tap offers the best opportunity to make sure that the clean water coming out of our taps is reflective of the clean water that is in our rivers, in our lakes, and in our groundwater aquifers. While source water planning has been initiated in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, no source water plans are either planned or underway in Alberta.

Protecting aquatic and riparian ecosystems

Traditionally, the needs of aquatic ecosystems have been secondary in water allocation to economic production. Today, there is recognition by national and international governments of the need to respect, protect, and restore river flows for aquatic ecosystem protection.

Transitioning to a more progressive model of water allocation, however, requires a shift in thinking with respect to managing natural ecosystems. Such a shift might involve paying the full cost of using water, especially by industry who largely receive their water for free. It may also require shifting some of the priorities in water allocation systems. Alberta government's current review of the system presents an opportunity to do just that and start giving priority to basic human needs and environmental needs.

Inter-jurisdictional management

Finally, the report challenges the effectiveness of the Master Agreement on Apportionment, which has served as the primary mechanism for water sharing in the Prairie Provinces. Impacts of climate change on water supply, growing water demands, and new dam proposals will likely put stress on these agreements, which are largely designed based on a model of water abundance. Because the climate cycle and the water cycle are intimately linked, a changing climate will have rather dramatic effects on our water systems. Glaciers are already melting but scientists predict that less precipitation will fall as snow and higher temperatures will mean more evaporation—overall less water.

The Prairie Directive suggests a strengthening of the Prairies Provinces Water Board and the development of comprehensive water management plan that addresses water quality and quantity, surface and groundwater. To facilitate this, the federal government should create a binding dispute resolution process to encourage provinces to negotiate stronger and more equitable arrangements among themselves.

"Alberta, as the upstream province, has the added responsibility to ensure the water we pass to the downstream provinces is high quality and sufficient in quantity. We are all linked by our river systems and have a joint responsibility to protect this water system, across the Prairies, for our human needs and for environmental needs. In the best traditions of democracy, the Directive declares what Prairie residents expect of their governments, whether at local, provincial, or national levels. The Directive calls for action by government to resolve the water tensions that underlie many of our discussions of economy, livelihood, public health, and the environment."
Water Matters

The development of the vision for sustainable water management in the Prairies took place over two years following a series of public forums across the Prairies in late 2007.