RED DEER, Alta. – Farmers are willing to pay for water as long as the price is fair, says the head of Alberta’s largest irrigation district.
Water is a currency that has more value than cash for southern Albertans, said Jim Webber of the Eastern Irrigation District based in Brooks.
Figuring out a fair price for everyone’s fair share for water has been discussed for years, he told a recent Alberta agricultural economists meeting in Red Deer.
Farmers now pay the tab for water delivery to a district. Other groups like fishers and recreation users pay nothing to use the water in the canals or in the reservoirs.
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Districts like the EID want a fairer system.
“The cost to the farmers collectively will not change but we will reward the ones who are good at what they do and we will penalize those who are somewhat careless,” he said.
The EID conducted a water audit and found some people get about the right amount at 18 inches per season. They plan to find out how others used nine acre feet per season. An acre foot is the amount of water required to cover an acre of land in one-foot-deep water.
John Thompson, an environmental economist, said recent studies indicate water adds $180 per acre to the value of land.
The standard licensing agreement provides 18 inches of water per year per acre, which translates into water being worth about $400 depending on the area, scarcity and soil type.
The greatest problem in pricing water is figuring out how to do it.
Money could come from license fees, paying for cost of the service, royalties and the cost of transferring licenses.
A license fee is a one-time payment. Anyone who requires more than 50 acre feet must pay. Below that amount, the licensee does not pay.
Money spent to create infrastructure like dams and canals cost Alberta public works about $39 million last year as part of its share in irrigation rehabilitation. The rest of the money for upgrades and maintenance came from irrigation districts.
Irrigation is the largest user of water in the province. The largest draw of water comes from the Bow River and Oldman River basins. The irrigation districts using this water have licences saying how much they may use. These have been in effect since the 1900s.
In 1997, 1.43 million acres were irrigated. The 13 irrigation districts account for 83 percent of that withdrawal.
