March 2010
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FacebookBy Emma Gilchrist
Okotoks is a town shaped by one thing more than any other:
water – a lack of water, to be precise.
Spurred on by its limited water supply, in 1998 the town became one of the first municipalities in the world to establish growth targets linked to environmental carrying capacity. With a population cap of 30,000, Okotoks would be able to stay just inside of the licenced limits of the Sheep River aquifer – or so it was thought. There’s just one hitch: two decades before the community’s build-out date of 2030, the town has run dry.
“We’ll hit our water allocation license this year,” says Dawn Heffernan, environment and sustainability coordinator for the Town of Okotoks.
Okotoks isn’t tapped out 20 years ahead of schedule for lack of trying; residents and businesses alike have met ambitious conservation goals. But there’s one thing dedication and planning can’t get you in southern Alberta: a water license. And an additional water license is exactly what the town was counting on to sustain its growth.
“We did boom a couple years ago faster than we ever thought we would and that obviously didn’t help matters,” Heffernan says. “We are desperately trying to find licenses.”
Unless the town finds water soon, it’s clear that something’s got to give. It’s no wonder then that the town is watching Alberta’s ongoing water allocation review very closely.
The review will decide how much water can be allocated from Alberta’s wells, lakes and rivers and who gets access to that water. It’s not a system that changes every day – actually; it hasn’t changed since 1894 when the Northwest Irrigation Act created a system in which priority was based on license date.
Called a “first in time, first in right” (or FITFIR) system, it was very good at settling the West because farmers wouldn’t move unless they knew they’d have access to water.
But by 2009, 12,000 people were waiting in line for water licenses.
“Any new business, whether it’s a geothermal company or an organic farmer, is going to be near the end of the line,” explains Julia Ko, water policy and program coordinator at Water Matters, an NGO that focuses on the province’s water issues.
When, during the height of Calgary’s boom, the Bow and Oldman River basins were closed to new water licenses, it was the dawn of a new era in Alberta: the era of the water market.
“We accept the economic characteristic of water, but there’s a part of water that you can’t put a number to,” Ko says.
That’s why her organization takes issue with the policy options on the table in the water allocation review, which is entering public consultations this spring and summer.
All three options support a deregulated water market, which doesn’t do enough to protect the province’s water, Ko says.
“Water is not being protected for people and the environment and it’s not being used wisely,” she adds.
Ko has been touring the province trying to boost awareness of the fact the system provides no protection of water for basic human needs, or to preserve the health of the rivers.
“The problem is this is a complicated issue,” Ko says. “But it’s also a very important one.”
Okotoks isn’t the only municipality running out of water. Facing an imminent shortage, Strathmore recently applied for a license to be serviced by Calgary for water. And with 80 per cent of Albertans living in southern Alberta, while having access to only 20 per cent of Alberta’s water supply, dry times are set to become ever more common.
Population growth, climate change and mismanagement of our water supply are all leading us down a path to increased water scarcity.
“It all adds up very seriously to vulnerability to deep and persistent drought,” says Bob Sandford, an internationally renowned water expert based in Canmore. “We know that droughts of 20 to 100 years have occurred here.
“There’s a world water crisis and because our population has been growing so quickly in dry regions of the country we should not be surprised that issues that have appeared elsewhere have begun to appear here,” he continues. “Cities and agriculture are now competing for water between each other and nature.”
Sandford has spent his entire career protecting water, writing books on the topic, and serving in many high-profile roles, his latest as Canada’s chair for the United Nations Water for Life Partnership, which addresses global water quality and availability issues.
And he’s seen the same situation Alberta is currently facing play out over and over again.
“We are going to wake up one morning and find we have the same conflicts over water that other countries have,” Sandford says.
Unless, of course, we change tracks. “The opportunity here is to do something that others have not done – which is to reform water policies before we are in crisis,” he says.
To even begin to do so, however, Albertans have to face up to three hard truths:
- There isn’t a limitless abundance of water.
- We are not world experts in managing our water resources. “We are global water wasters in a high order,” Sandford says.
- The water allocation system is in dire need of changes. And the changes aren’t going to please everyone.
“Higher levels of government need to assert leadership on important water matters,” Sandford says. “We’re not going to get there by consensus that’s going to make everybody happy. If international example can teach us anything it’s that that’s not going to work.”
Sandford echoes Water Matters’ concern about the health of our aquatic ecosystems. “What we’re seeing is a growing realization of how much water nature needs to maintain ecological function,” he says. “To provide water to people, natural systems need water and hence nature can’t be where we send water only after we’ve taken what we need.”
Water markets don’t solve the fundamental problem that we face, Sandford says. “What we need is a completely revolutionary way of thinking about how we manage our resources.”
Alberta’s water allocation review worries Sandford. “I’m quite troubled by it because we want to do the easy bits that make some people happy and make some people money. We’re just playing around the edges.”
He fears the status quo and special interests stand in the way of true reform.
“It’s possible to get out in front of it,” Sandford says. “This is really important. These discussions are crucial because we have room to move right now. If we don’t, we’re going to close the door to real possible positive reform.”
What will make reform happen? “A 10-year drought would do it,” Sandford says.
Sure you can’t conjure up a 10-year drought to spur Albertans into action, but there are some things you can do.
TAKE ACTION:
- Get informed by visiting Water Matters online where you can sign their online petition.
- Since public consultation dates have not been set, your best way to weigh in is to write a letter by hand, or printed and signed. Use your own words to express your concerns. Letters can be directed to Environment Minister Robert Renner or Premier Ed Stelmach.
The Honourable Robert Renner
Minister of the Environment
425 Legislature Building
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427-2391
Email: rob.renner@assembly.ab.caPremier Ed Stelmach
Office of the Premier
Room 307, Legislature Bldg.
10800 – 97th Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427-2251 - Plan an awareness event in your community by contacting Julia Ko at Water Matters at julia@water-matters.org.
- Attend an interactive presentation on the World’s Water Crisis and What that Means for Alberta at The Plaza (1133 Kensington Rd. N.W.) on March 21 (World Water Day) from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
March 4th, 2010 at 9:37 am
escellent article many thanks
March 4th, 2010 at 10:53 am
You are so right! This is a very important issue and one that most do not take near as seriously as they should. It is important to get the word out. I, too, am afraid that big business will come out the winners and the ecological system along with the average persons quality of life will suffer immensely. Something as simple as showering once a week and hand washing the other days would save a lot of water, if everyone did it.
March 4th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Hi,
The University of Calgary is organizing a free conference on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at the Rozsa Centre: WATER FOR LIFE 2010 CONFERENCE.
Okotoks an other local water issues will be discussed.It will offer a space for debate and discussions and will focus on Alberta water management and global water issues.
For more information: http://www.ucalgary.ca/water
Registration: Sylvia Fuchek: sylvia.fuchek@haskayne.ucalgary.ca
403-220-3812 | RSVP by March 10, 2010
Free Event / Open to the public
March 10th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Great article! So glad that Reap is looking at this. The Alberta Stewardship is holding a one day conference on June 3 in Sylvan Lake at which Bob Sanford will be speaking along with others who are experts on Alberta’s water policies. For more information you can contact the Alberta Stewardship Network.
March 24th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
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March 26th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
the only way water issues will be resolved is when the Provincial Government acts on it’s mistakes regarding water licensing. As long as big business have the water rights that should belong to “the people” as it is for mineral rights, the people will suffer, while big business continues on with the support-financially and otherwise, of government.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Alberta…
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May 13th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
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