Decline in water table | Alberta needs a long-term plan to prevent water shortages
Sufficient water is not generally considered a problem in Alberta’s northwest region surrounding Grande Prairie, but it could become a limiting factor for future development.
Walter Paszkowski, economic development officer for the County of Grande Prairie, said declining river flows and a lower water table are cause for concern in a region where a 40 percent increase in water use is projected over the next 11 years.
The former Alberta agriculture minister outlined regional water challenges April 16 at the water, agriculture and the environment conference in Lethbridge.
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“When you look at the map and see the enormous volumes of water coming into, flowing through and ultimately leaving Alberta through the northern part of the province, you are liable to ask, ‘what cave has this character crawled out of,’ ” Paszkowski said about the irony of speaking about drought in the wet Peace region.
However, an extended period of dry weather has put pressure on supplies.
The Peace River watershed comprises 28 percent of the province and has a population of 85,000. It has 3,300 oil and gas wells, three gas plants, 90,000 kilometres of pipeline and has major shale oil formations yet to be developed. That’s one of the reasons population is projected to double within the next 30 years.
As well, the county has three major wood processors plus its agricultural interests, all of which use water.
There are an estimated 6,570 water wells, most of which are relatively shallow at 30 to 90 metres, and 62 percent of well owners also own livestock with their own water demands.
“This adds up to a significant amount of pressure on our water system, which for the most part is groundwater in the county and is supplied by water wells,” said Paszkowski.
The county has finished its fifth year of water well testing and found a three to five metre decline in the water table.
The Peace, Wapiti and Smoky rivers are the main rivers, but Paszkowski said the Wapiti is near capacity for water withdrawal and the Smoky is plagued by low water levels at various times of year. The mighty Peace has the largest stream flow, but the cost of pumping water up its steep banks is prohibitive. Nor are smaller dams a solution given the unsuitable soil structure along much of that river.
“The pressures that would be exerted by building a dam would be so significant that (it) almost makes it unfeasible.”
Paszkowski said the threat of water shortages has already led prospective industries to locate elsewhere. However, the region still generates 37 percent of Alberta’s revenue, so a long-range strategy is needed.
“The overall water supply at this time is not the problem in the north,” he said. “Management and distribution are the immediate problems.”
