As summer ends, Medicine Hat MLA says Alberta water committee focused on future

“It went really well, a lot of positive feedback and a lot of issues for folks to be able to sink my teeth in and for us to be able to get some resolutions here,” Wright said of the meetings.

Water supply has been the primary concern over the past six months for the many farmers, producers and residents of the large riding Wright represents in southeastern Alberta.

The region was spared from what could have been a devastating July and August.

“It was the third-wettest May in our history and I think if we didn’t have that, we would be having some very different conversations right now,” Wright said.

A combination of a weak snowpack recovering from severe conditions in 2023 and the threat those conditions would continue this year had the Alberta government preparing for what was expected to be the worst drought in over 20 years.

READ: Medicine Hat prepares for what could be its driest summer since 2001

But now, after a summer agricultural season saved by the spring rain, the committee has turned to look at the years to come, according to Wright.

“What’s 100 years down the road look like? Because Alberta is going to continue to grow,” the United Conservative MLA said.

“We need to make sure that we’re being very wise with our water decisions, as well as making sure that we’re setting future generations of Albertans up for success.”

Wright and the water committee work gather feedback from a panel of agriculture industry leaders and other experts to shape their work.

Alberta is missing out on water it is entitled to, said Wright.

“Some of the more recent data show that up to 62 per cent of our water is actually going downstream past our borders,” he said, explaining the province is could be collecting 50 per cent.

“There’s a number of questions that go into this that become much grander than just cyclical nature, flooding, droughts, climate change,” Wright added.

“There’s so much more that goes into these questions that we need to continue to evaluate because it can’t be looked at as just being one topic.”

Alberta has experienced five major droughts since 2001 — according to data from Alberta Water — and scientists say such conditions are expected to be more common and increasingly harsher due to the impacts of climate change.

The opposition New Democrats and climate change advocates say Alberta needs to move rapidly to reach lower emissions through strategies such as a broad energy transition from non-renewables to clean sources.

Earlier this year when the outlook was dire for severe drought conditions, the Alberta government led a historic round of water-sharing agreements.

Wright said it was a clear example of Albertans coming together to face a common challenge, a good sign for a future that could require more collaboration.

“Many of these folks who have got some of the oldest water rights could have just said ‘no, tough deal with it’, but that’s that’s not the Alberta spirit,” the MLA said.

“The Alberta spirit works together to find solutions.”

by Eli J. Ridder

As summer ends, Medicine Hat MLA says Alberta water committee focused on future

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