CALGARY – After living under a century-old water act originally written to manage irrigation projects, an updated water bill for Alberta should become law next spring.
The act will encompass 93 recommendations prepared by a provincially appointed water management review committee. These recommendations were garnered from a series of public meetings.
“One of the things Albertans are looking for in new water legislation is flexibility,” said Stan Klassen, a member of the water management review committee.
As soon as the bill is tabled in the legislature this fall, the public is again invited to comment on the act, said Jake Thiessen, assistant deputy minister responsible for water.
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A key point in this act is the freedom to manage surface and groundwater on a regional rather than provincial basis, since water requirements vary across the province. The management plans will likely be based on the seven major river basin regions, said Thiessen.
By allowing each region to manage water to suit its own requirements, decisions can be made concerning the transferral of water rights and water allocation.
Of particular concern to farmers is the question of how water licences will be granted. A licence stipulates how much water can be withdrawn for farm, domestic, municipal or industrial use.
For farmers on small holdings, licences won’t be required for users of up to one-acre foot or 250,000 gallons per year. This is referred to as household use.
The second category, called traditional agriculture use, applies to most farms. It allows farmers to use up to five acre-feet of water or 1.25 million gallons of water per year.
It is estimated this is enough water for 250-300 head of livestock or an equivalent number of poultry or hogs. Licences will be backdated to the time the farmer started drawing the water, said Thiessen.
The licence will be sold for a one-time registration fee and will be attached to the land title.
The third licence category is for intensive livestock operations with more than 300 head and will be based on the size of farm and volume of water required. These larger operations have always required licences but some owners have never applied for one, said Thiessen.
Licences for dugouts aren’t necessary.
Proposals to update the 100-year-old Alberta water act have been ongoing for about five years and the agriculture sector has been one of the most vocal groups demanding fair distribution of water.
Water management in Alberta is important to the prairie provinces because many eastward flowing rivers originate here. Enough water must be available to allow each province to withdraw 50 percent of the water flowing through. This is called the apportionment agreement.
