Alberta’s Drought Command Team has received authorization to negotiate with major water license holders to create water-sharing agreements in the Red Deer, Bow, and Old Man River basins, in an effort to mitigate the risk of drought. (Photo 27587427 © Calyx22 | Dreamstime.com)

By Justin Goulet

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Alberta’s Drought Command Team has received the go-ahead to negotiate with major water license holders to create water-sharing agreements in the Red Deer River, Bow River, and Old Man River basins.

Provincial officials said if a severe drought occurs, the agreements would see major users use less water to help others downstream, helping to mitigate the risk of drought.

The province relies on melting snow and rain for all its water. Officials said this winter the snowpack is below average, rivers are at record low levels and multiple reservoirs are below capacity.

This is the first time since 2001 that the team has received authorization to enter negotiations, which will begin Thursday.

Medicine Hat rests in the South East Alberta watershed, downstream of the regions the negotiations are targeting.

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Rebecca Schulz, minister of environment and protected areas, said the deal makes history.

“This effort will be the largest water-sharing negotiation to have ever occurred in Alberta’s history,” Schulz said.

“I want to thank licence holders for coming to the table – your generosity, ingenuity and participation in this effort reflects the very best of our province,” she added.

In Alberta, there are 25,000 organizations and businesses that hold licenses for 9.5 billion cubic metres of water. The Drought Command Team will select and prioritize negotiations with Alberta’s largest water license holders with a goal of securing significant and timely reductions in water use.

To aid in managing water during previous shortages, individuals and groups have worked together to share available water. The province said that the scope and scale of the collaborative work underway and being proposed “is unprecedented in Alberta’s history”.

“Drought is something our farmers and ranchers have experienced before. Based on that experience, our irrigators and agricultural producers have done an amazing job to manage their operations during tough times,” said Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson.

“I also want to be clear, that Alberta producers are leaders in water conservation, environmental stewardship, and I am proud of the work they do.”

The water-sharing agreements will be entered on a voluntary basis and are expected to be completed before March 31.