In Alberta, 90,000 square kilometres of forests safeguard the upper reaches of the Athabasca and Saskatchewan River systems, and more than 100,000 square kilometres of wetlands store and filter water over 18 per cent of the province. Making the Connection: Water and Land in Alberta, a new report by Water Matters, concludes that the Alberta government must protect these and other watershed resources to prevent a water crisis in the province in the coming decades. This is the easiest, most effective and least costly way to maintain healthy ecosystems and the benefits they provide  including clean, abundant drinking water, sustainable fisheries, and water for agriculture and other industrial uses. The best part? It will also save taxpayers billions of dollars over the long term.

In light of projections that suggest that increasing levels of industrial, agricultural and urban development will reduce dramatically the quality and quantity of water in Alberta's watersheds, Making the Connection is a timely reminder. These projections include the following: The amount of Alberta's forests that have been harvested will increase from approximately 1.6 million hectares (since the 1950s) to more than 10 million hectares by 2105. The total footprint of the energy sector will more than double to 1.4 million hectares by 2105, likely amplifying current impacts on water and watershed functioning. The South Saskatchewan watershed, which embraces most of southern Alberta, will be the hardest hit, though several other watersheds including the North Saskatchewan and Athabasca watersheds will also feel the heat.

Making the Connection illustrates how protecting Alberta's headwaters, forests, wetlands, riparian areas, and groundwater recharge zones can provide Albertans with ecosystem goods and services worth billions of dollars every year. Intact forests, for instance, provide higher water quality, a more natural flow regime, and healthier aquatic ecosystems. Wetlands are another great example of a watershed component that provides valuable goods and services.

Although no comprehensive studies have been done on the value of Alberta's watersheds, a study of southern Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg watersheds, which are similar to those in southern Alberta, estimated the value of the ecosystem services provided by forests — including climate regulation, pest control by birds, habitat, food production, recreation, and water supply services — are as much as $677.54 per hectare annually. The same study found that the total value of all ecosystem services provided by wetlands is $939 to $1,500 per hectare per year.

In an era of cost-cutting, the Alberta government can actually save money over the long term by investing in maintaining and restoring healthy watersheds rather than multi-million-dollar infrastructure costs. New York City politicians, for instance, saved tax payers five billion dollars by protecting the Catskills-Delaware watershed rather than building two new water filtration plants.

Making the Connection also explores provincial watershed issues through three local case studies: the Elbow River watershed, Alberta's southern East Slopes and foothills, and the Sylvan Lake watershed.These case studies along with the rest of the report provide Albertans insights on how to make decisions that safeguard wetlands, groundwater recharge zones, riparian areas, and forests.

Making the Connection has six core recommendations that Albertans can implement in land-use planning. For all Albertans, and especially decision makers, the report recommends the following:

1. Adopting indicators that are specifically geared to watershed protection such as ability of land to resist erosion and ability of land for groundwater recharge as well as objectives such as goals for riparian health and wetlands.

2. Ensuring that in every regional plan, decision makers adopt a threshold for the amount of land in a given watershed that remains in a natural state. This percentage of land is an excellent indicator of watershed health.

3. Ensuring that in every regional plan, decision makers adopt a threshold for road density as it is an excellent indicator of watershed health.

4. Considering the adoption of a framework of source water protection at the macro-level with the regional planning process and then local adoption for more specific implementation by municipalities.

5. Adopting market-based instruments that are designed to help reach objectives set for watershed health.

6. Continuing to aggressively promote an awareness and understanding of the value of watersheds to provide critical ecological goods and services.

Water Matters hopes Albertans will use the resources that Making the Connection provides in their own planning contexts. By making the connection, the landscapes and the people who depend on them will benefit.

Copies of Making the Connection: Water and Land in Alberta can be downloaded here.

References

Stelfox, B. 2008. "Alberta's Landuses, Population, and Residential Patterns." Presentation to Alberta Real Estate Association.

Anielski, M. and S. Wilson. 2009, Counting Canada's Natural Capital: Assessing the Real Value of Canada's Boreal  Services. The Pembina Institute, Alberta. Commissioned by the Canadian Boreal Initiative, pages 27-29.

Lee, P.G., M. Hanneman, J.D. Gysbers, and R.Cheng. 2009. The last great intact forests of Canada: Atlas of Alberta. (Part II: What are the threats to Alberta's forest landscapes?) Global Forest Watch Canada, Edmonton, Alberta, page 52.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Filtration Avoidance. (Accessed April 4, 2010)

Voora, V. and H.D. Venema. 2008. An Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Lake Winnipeg Watershed: Phase 1 Report - Southern Manitoba Analysis, International Institute for Sustainable Development. Winnipeg, Manitoba, page 54.