On October 7, 2009, Water Matters and Ecojustice Canada released Share the Water, a report calling for an update to Alberta's water rights system, to ensure that water is secured for people and the environment. Share the Water suggests Alberta needs to take bold steps to address the challenge of a shrinking water supply in the face growing demands across the province. It was released in the wake of a government review of Alberta's water allocation system announced by Environment Minister Rob Renner in September 2008.

For the first time in 12 years, the Government of Alberta will make legislative changes to how water is allocated, and more importantly, who gets access. Next spring 2010, Albertans may have an opportunity to provide input on the current water rights system. The outcome will determine how water is allocated among human needs, the economy, and the environment.

This year, many Albertans experienced first hand the result of low flows in Alberta's rivers. In July 2009, 23 municipalities declared they were affected by agricultural disaster due to drought. This year, the North Saskatchewan River and Bow River had low river flows not seen in the last 91 years. Natural runoff volumes in Alberta have either been below average to much-below-average for six of the last nine years including 2009. While river flows were low, the total volume of water from the North Saskatchewan is considered normal for the period of record according to Alberta Environment.

But summer river flows for the Western Prairie Provinces as a whole have decreased 20 to 84 percent from the early part of the 20th century, and all major river basins in Alberta have seen a decline in flow. Declines are attributed in part to damming, water withdrawals and warming trends. With more low-water years on the horizon, the review of current water rights system provides Albertans with an opportunity to comment on secure water supplies for all users and for the environment.

The system that manages the right to use water is commonly known as "First In Time, First In Right" (FITFIR). FITFIR gives priority to the most senior licences in low-water years. A water right is the maximum amount of water that is licenced for use that they can divert from rivers and lakes or from the ground like aquifers. The current water rights system was designed in the late 1800s when water was plentiful. Although FITFIR helped settle the west, the current system is unable to fully respond to the 21st century pressures such as climate change, a growing population, a growing economy, or to maintain healthy river ecosystems.

Rivers

Surface water (from rivers and lakes) diversions make up 97 percent of all water use in Alberta. Meanwhile, three percent of Alberta's water is allocated from ground water, which 90 percent of rural Albertans use. Because shallow groundwater is connected to surface water, increased water withdrawals can affect surface water levels and quality.

The future availability of water for Alberta is at greater risk due to a growing demand for water including a growing population and the increasing challenges of climate change. Approximately 20 percent of Alberta's water supply is used by 88 percent of Alberta's population living in the North and South Saskatchewan river basins. With the fastest growing population in Canada, Alberta's municipal water use is expected to increase 25 percent by 2025. Furthermore, according research by the Calgary Regional Partnership, municipal water use, even with a 30 percent reduction in water use by 2030, will leave some communities such as High River (2012), Okotoks (2012), Strathmore (2012), and Turner Valley (2016) short of water. Water-short communities will need to look for water from existing licence holders through a water transfer that will come at a price.

Climate change will also affect Alberta's water supply. In fact, the most serious risk climate change poses to Alberta (and the Canadian Prairies) is a decline in water supply. Climate change has resulted in dwindling glaciers, less precipitation as snow, and more evaporation that will together decrease the overall supply of water to all water users including aquatic ecosystems. For example, in the South Saskatchewan River Basin, some studies project the temperature in southern Alberta will increase from 1.5 C to 2.8 C and a corresponding reduction of water supply in the basin by 546 million cubic metres.

To raise awareness about this growing issue, Water Matters launched Share the Water in October, a campaign to help Albertans understand this pressing issue.

How does this affect me?

If you live in a municipality, it could mean you pay more for your water. If you are an angler or canoe Alberta's rivers, the river flows you rely on for fishing or paddling could be reduced. Some businesses will either have to pay for water (through purchasing a water licence) or will be at greater risk in low water years. Existing businesses will likely need to invest significantly in new or improved water conservation practices and technologies. Access to water for all users will not come as easily as it has in the past.

Albertans are not guaranteed basic human water rights

The current water rights system does not prioritize water for instream flows or basic human needs. Protections do exist for household use applying largely to Alberta's rural community who are permitted to use "a maximum of 1250 cubic metres of water per year per household for the purposes of human consumption, sanitation, fire prevention and watering animals, gardens, lawns and trees." This system, however, does not exist for the vast majority of Albertans. The current water rights system deliberately avoids prioritizing water uses. Instead, the current system prioritizes water use by the date a water licence was issued. In other words, water use for basic human needs such as cooking, cleaning, and drinking is not prioritized. According to Share the Water, without significant changes, the current system will produce winners and losers without any rationale for how water will be used to benefit Albertans. The lack of recognition for water as a basic need also extends to instream flows needed to maintain healthy river ecosystems.

Share the Water recommends that Alberta's water rights system be updated to reflect modern water management science and practices. Outdated science from the 1970s to 1980s posed that static (not variable) river flows were adequate to protect river ecosystems. Today, science embraces ecosystem-based water management that requires variable river flows to protect river ecosystems.

Healthy river systems benefit all Albertans by ensuring "ecological goods and services" like clean water, water storage, flood control, recreation, and wildlife habitat. Instream flows — also known as environmental flows — enable these ecosystem services and goods. In general, studies suggest that rivers require 80 to 92 percent of their natural mean flow to maintain ecological functions. At present, instream flows are not adequately protected or enforced. Although some instream flow protections exist in the South Saskatchewan Basin, a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund of Canada found South Saskatchewan River Basin to be the most threatened river in Canada because of low environmental flows. The same report also cites the decline of instream flow protections on the Athabasca River.

Alberta's Water Market

Another issue concerning the current water rights system is Alberta's water market. On August 30, 2006, the Government of Alberta effectively created Canada's first water market (also known as a water transfer system) when it issued a moratorium on new water licences on the Bow, Oldman, and South Saskatchewan rivers. Alberta's water market allows for the re-distribution of water between different water users. By 2008, 28 water rights transfers were completed under this system. The current water transfer system (water market) has several public policy protections: a public review of every water transfer, each transfer is considered for its hydrological and third-party impacts, and the Government of Alberta has the opportunity to hold back 10 percent of the allocation for instream purposes. The upcoming review of Alberta's water rights system could change these public protections.

Share the Water: Recommendations

Share the Water recommends that any future water allocation system should be able to do the following:

• Recognize and protects instream flow needs
• Integrate water and land use policies
• Equitably distribute water rights
• Encourage water conservation and water efficiency

In addition, Share the Water recommends:

• Establishing legally enforceable water management plans based upon the best scientific evidence available
• Making a system that provides Albertans with a secure source of water that works within the natural availability of the environment
• Maintaining public and government oversight of water allocations and use, using shares
• Making incentives to encourage water conservation and efficient use
• Including groundwater in the water management system

Learn more on our Share the Water campaign pages

Sources:

Alberta Environment A. 2009. Water Supply Outlook for September 2009. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta. (accessed October 6, 2009).

Alberta Environment B. 2009. Personal Communications via email. October 14, 2009.

Arthington, A.H. and B. Puse. 2003. Flow restoration and protection in Australian river. River Research and Applications. 19: 377-395.

AMEC Earth & Environmental. 2007. Water for Life: Current and Future Water Use in Alberta. Edmonton, AB: AMEC Earth & Environment, prepared for Alberta Environment.

Bruce, J., I. Burton, H. Martin, B. Mills, and L. Mortsch. June 2000. Water Sector: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change, Final Report. p. 72-73. Prepared for the Climate Change Action Fund.

Calgary Regional Partnership, Regional Servicing Summary. June 2007. Report on Growth Management Issues in the Calgary Region.

Droitsch, Danielle, and Robinson, Barry. 2009. Share the Water: Building a Secure Water Future for Alberta. Canmore, AB and Vancouver, BC: Water Matters and EcoJustice. Available in print. (accessed October 10, 2009).

Government of Alberta. Alberta Environment. 2007. Water Allocation, fact sheet. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta, Alberta Environment, Education. (accessed October 18, 2009).

Government of Alberta. 1996. Water Act. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta. (accessed October 18, 2009).

Martz, L, J. Bruneau and J.T. Rolfe (eds). 2007. Climate Change and Water: SSRB Final Technical Report. Saskatoon, SK: University of Saskatchewan. (accessed October 14, 2009).

Schindler, D.W., and Donahue, W. F. 2006. An impending water crisis in Canada's western prairie provinces. May 9, 2006. Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences 103 (19).

Wenig, M., A. Kwasniak, and M. Quinn. 2006. Water Under the Bridge? The Role of Instream Flow Needs (IFNs) Determinations in Alberta's River Management. In: Water: Science and Politics. Epp, H. and D. Ealey (eds.). Proceedings of the Conference Held by the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists on March 25-28, 2006, in Calgary, Alberta. Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, Edmonton, Alberta. pp 1.

World Wildlife Fund Canada. 2009. Canada's Rivers at Risk: Environmental Flows and Canada's Freshwater Future. Toronto, ON: World Wildlife Fund. (accessed October 18, 2009).

Additional Reading

Dyson, M., Bergkamp, G., Scanlong, J. (eds). 2003. Flow, The Essentials of Environmental Flows. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge. (accessed October 14, 2009).

King, J., and C. Brown. 2006. Environmental flows: striking the balance between development and resource protection. Ecology and Society 11(2): 26. (accessed October 19, 2009).

Swedish Water House. 2009. Securing Water for Ecosystems and Human Well-being: The Importance of Environmental Flows. Litografia, Sweden: Swedish Water House. (accessed October 14, 2009).