A report from Alberta Environment, Groundwater Risk Assessment for Alberta (2008), suggests that a lack of knowledge about groundwater hampers the provincial government's ability to address water allocation issues and that some southern municipalities could be at risk for groundwater supply. The report identified risks related to groundwater use and ranked them according to their potential level of occurrence and impact. The study results were based on feedback from 121 survey respondents and over 50 participants in five workshops representing a wide variety of interests including: government (federal, provincial and municipal), First Nations and Métis Settlements, industry, agriculture, energy, stewardship groups and academia.

There has been greater attention focused on groundwater resources in Alberta in recent years. Groundwater use in the province is small in comparison with the reliance on surface water. Three percent of total provincial water allocations are from groundwater sources while 90 percent of rural Albertans (over 600,000) rely on this resource. As a result, many Albertans are increasingly becoming worried that new developments, such as drilling for coalbed methane, and other factors like population growth and climatic variability (e.g. drought) could have a serious impact on this vital resource.

During the public consultations phase on the draft Water for Life strategy (2001-2002) rural Albertans told the government about the importance of protecting their groundwater supplies. Since then, the government has dedicated resources to better understand the quality and quantity of groundwater by developing hydrogeological maps (i.e. on aquifer yield and groundwater flow) and monitoring activities (e.g. monitoring of wells). And yet, the need for more research, monitoring and resources remains significant.

In 2007, the need to improve our knowledge of aquifers and groundwater resources in Alberta was emphasized by the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy (2007) who stated "[t]he existing network of groundwater monitoring is insufficient to provide reliable information on water quality and water levels and their variability." This gap in knowledge was also highlighted by the Pembina Institute, Protecting Water, Producing Gas: Minimizing the Impact of Coalbed Methane and Other Natural Gas Production on Alberta's Groundwater, where it was highlighted that "It is essential to improve knowledge of Alberta's groundwater to ensure this resource is not over allocated. ...if demands exceed the rate of recharge, aquifers become depleted to such an extent that they will no longer provide a viable source of water."

Assessment Findings

The purpose of the Groundwater Risk Assessment for Alberta was to help identify risks specifically related to groundwater resources and to rank these risks based on their potential level of occurrence and impact. The category of greatest concern to participants, by far, was "Knowledge and Allocation Management" and was also regarded as having a serious risk. Some of the key and recurring themes that emerged from this category include the following:

• Knowledge deficiency: Alberta Environment's lack of information, or a system to manage available information in a manner that would provide a clearer picture of groundwater resources.
• Over-allocation of groundwater: Alberta Environment's inability to make informed decisions about groundwater allocation because of inadequate data on the quantity of groundwater available. Participants commented that in some areas of Alberta, groundwater has already been over-allocated.
• Fresh water supply versus demand: Some provincial municipalities that rely on groundwater for their potable water supply, particularly in Southern Alberta, could be at risk if groundwater supplies in their areas were to diminish because of increasing demands from industry and a growing population.
• Knowledge infrastructure gap: Alberta does not have a complete provincial predictive model (e.g. computer simulation models for aquifer recharge rates and areas) for our groundwater aquifer systems. Groundwater allocation decisions are often made without the tools to carefully weigh the cumulative impacts of the allocation of groundwater resources.

The report achieved its goal to highlight risks and shed light on how those risks affect groundwater sources. However, the report provided little in terms of a more concrete analysis or discussion regarding potential measures to address the various issues raised by participants. It will be up to the Government of Alberta to determine what actions they will take to address these risks and threats to Alberta's groundwater resources.

Sources

Griffiths, Mary. 2007. Protecting Water, Producing Gas: Minimizing the Impact of Coalbed Methane and Other Natural Gas Production on Alberta's Groundwater. Drayton Valley, AB: The Pembina Institute. (accessed February 9, 2010).

Mckenna, David. 2008. Groundwater in Alberta: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - The Challenges and Opportunities. Edmonton, AB: WaterTech. (accessed on February 8th, 2010).

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. 2008. Groundwater Risk Assessment for Alberta. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Environment.