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Updated: February 6, 2004 |
Alberta is developing a comprehensive strategy that will identify
short-, medium- and long-term plans to effectively manage the quantity
and quality of the province’s water systems and supply.
Water for Life will address Alberta’s current water
challenges and enable the province to proactively deal with water-related
issues we may face in the future.
In the past, Alberta has been able to manage its water supply because
there has been a relatively abundant, clean supply to meet the population’s
needs and maintain a healthy aquatic environment. But as a progressive
and prosperous province, Alberta is seeing rapid industrial, agricultural
and municipal growth, which is putting more pressures on existing
water supplies and potentially affecting the quality of surface
water and groundwater. At the same time, nature’s unpredictability
has placed overwhelming demands on existing water supplies.
For example, recent consecutive years of drought conditions in most
areas of the province have led to water shortages. While Alberta
has adapted its water policies over time to keep pace with emerging
issues and challenges, we need to do more to ensure a safe and sustainable
water supply.
Alberta must develop a strategy to ensure we have an effective and
sustainable way of conserving, managing and protecting water supplies,
which will preserve the environment while maintaining a high quality
of life for Albertans.The specific objectives of Water for Life
are to ensure Alberta has:
- Healthy, sustainable ecosystems
- A safe, secure drinking water supply
- Reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy
- The knowledge necessary to make effective water management
decisions
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- There is a growing demand for water in the province, and a
dwindling supply, especially in the southern part of the province.
- There is increasing uncertainty about the ability to predict
supply and demand. We can estimate the demand, but supply is difficult
to predict due to unforeseeable environmental factors, including
the effects of climate change.
- Alberta has a significant amount of groundwater, yet there
is a lack of knowledge and understanding of its groundwater resources.
- Certain basins in some areas of the province are nearing the
limits of water allocation – particularly during dry periods
when less water is flowing in the rivers.
- Alberta must honour its commitments to Saskatchewan and Montana
with regard to the amount of water that will flow into each jurisdiction.
- Economic opportunity is being lost in some areas of the province
because of a lack of water supply.
- As Alberta’s economy and population continue to grow,
there may be increased potential for agricultural, industrial
and municipal activities to affect Alberta’s streams, lakes,
rivers and groundwater.
- About 600,000 rural Albertans -- or 20 per cent of our population
-- get their drinking water from private water systems, and do
not have the same level of assurance as those who use approved
waterworks systems.
- Recent events in Walkerton, Ontario and North Battleford, Saskatchewan
have increased public awareness and concern about the safety and
management of municipal water supplies.
- There are signs that water quality problems are putting increased
stress on Alberta’s rivers and lakes. This affects fish habitats,
as well as the public’s ability to enjoy water-related recreational
activities, such as swimming.
- Good water management requires effective, reliable and manageable
infrastructure (e.g. dams).
- Severe and unpredictable weather conditions increase the risk
of flooding and drought. Both pose potential threats to human
safety and create environmental damages and economic costs for
Albertans.
- A great deal of knowledge and research in the area of water
management and water quality already exists in Alberta and around
the world. How do we best capture that knowledge and put it into
practice?
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Because water is vital to all Albertans, in all areas and communities
across the province, their opinions and ideas are important in developing
a provincial water strategy.
Between March 1 and April 15, 2002, the Government of Alberta consulted
with Albertans on the challenges and priorities for water management
and supply, and sought fresh ideas for responsible solutions to
those challenges. The Public
Consultation Summary Report outlines what Albertans had to say
regarding water resources in the province.
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The consultation process had three major components - ideas generation,
public outreach and consultation, and a ministerial forum on water.
The first phase – ideas generation – was completed in early
2002 when a small, diverse group of Albertans provided the Government
of Alberta with advice on water management in the province. This “ideas”
group identified the challenges associated with managing water in
the province and several opportunities for improving it.
These ideas provided the framework for the second stage of the process,
a comprehensive public outreach and consultation, held in March and
April 2002.
During this phase, key stakeholders and all Albertans responded to
the initial directions proposed by the ideas group, as well as offered
their own advice, opinions and ideas.
The third stage in the strategy’s consultation process was a
Minister’s Forum on Water, held in June of 2002. The forum involved
108 invited Albertans and experts. They reviewed the input from the
public outreach and consultation process and discussed next steps
and solutions.
Working with a panel of experts on water issues, Alberta Environment
is compiling the ideas and feedback heard through all three levels
of the consultation process and developing a series of recommendations
and a framework that will serve as the provincial water strategy for
sustainability.The Minister's
Forum on Water Summary Report outlines what was said at the Minister's
Forum on Water.
The goal is to have an action-oriented water strategy – one that
identifies specific activities and initiatives – in place by
fall 2003.
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