The Alberta Water Council recommends that the province, municipalities and various water management groups talk to each other more so they will be better prepared to deal with drought.
“Preparedness and adaptability are the keys to successfully responding and adapting to the risk of multi-year drought,” the AWC said in a report released late last month.
This comes after the group completed a drought simulation exercise for the South Saskatchewan River Basin that used a combination of modelling and in-person exercises to understand the effects of drought better and to test management methods.
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The AWC released nine recommendations in the February report:
- The Alberta government complete and share its provincial drought and water shortage response plan with large water license holders and users.
- Municipalities, irrigation districts and other groups collaborate with the Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils to use the AWC’s Building Resiliency to Multi-Year Drought in Alberta Guide to create local drought response and management plans and test these plans through drought exercises.
- Conduct a drought simulation for the Bow River sub-basin.
- The AWC and multi-stakeholder group create a package so other groups can conduct their own drought simulations.
- Fill knowledge gaps on the availability of groundwater and its feasibility as an alternative water source in emergencies.
- The Alberta government investigate the feasibility of expanding water infrastructure along with non-structural solutions such as nature-based solutions.
- Sectors that have water conservation, efficiency and productivity (CEP) plans consider reviewing them through the lens of drought management with an eye to climate change, population and economic growth.
- The province lead a multi-stakeholder approach in developing guidance for water sharing agreements.
- The province provide an overview and key considerations for an inter-basin transfer water licence, which requires a special act of the legislature, as well as outline considerations or circumstances that could inform the government if a water emergency declaration is necessary, and review whether the terms of reference for the Intrabasin Coordinating Committee are still relevant.
