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Water studies bring welcomed insight |
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Written by Ric Swihart Lethbridge Herald
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Monday, 30 November 2009 |
Water licence re-allocation is not likely to be a major issue in irrigation-rich southern Alberta, says the head of the Alberta Irrigation Projects Association.
Richard Phillips of Vauxhall, general manager of the Bow River Irrigation District, welcomed the recent release of three major river water use and allocation studies, but feels there is room for those wanting more water to secure it.
The Alberta Water Research Institute, an Edmonton-based research organization headed by former Alberta cabinet minister Lorne Taylor of Medicine Hat, hit on a sensitive area — municipal water demands and the licences held by what some call the big players like Calgary.
The institute study looks at improving water allocation measures that would encourage municipal water licences to be shared, altered or “rightsized.”
David Hill of Edmonton, former executive director of AIPA in Lethbridge, said the institute earlier this year brought in specialists from Australia, the European Union, the western United States and across Canada to gain a global perspective on water allocation.
It boiled down to discussion of the value of a water market which would allow economics and need dictate water reallocation or finding more efficient ways to use the Alberta water licence format.
He said the key to making water sustainable into the future is not for those holding licences to protect those licences, but that all work co-operatively to build the future all want for Alberta.
Phillips said irrigators are doing their share in conserving water. Many irrigation districts have reduced their flow from the river systems, or held it steady, the last few years. And some irrigation districts have amended their water licences to allow them to help others with increased water demands
For instance, the Taber Irrigation District makes 8,000 acre feet of water a year available for non-irrigation uses. The Town of Taber has more water to expand business and industry, and most agree a proposed ethanol plant for the Purple Springs area would never have got off the drawing board without that kind of water source.
Phillips wonders if the water allocation studies are as pertinent as some think.
Water licences or portions could be transferred since 1999, but only 28 transactions have been made, and most of them since the river basins in southern Alberta were closed to new water licences because of supply issues a few years ago.
Prior to the transfer clause, there was really no need for reallocation. If a person or company wanted water, all they had to do was apply.
He said irrigation and municipal markets hold the cards for most of Alberta’s water. “You could double the demand from all other users and it would not be a huge amount of water.”
The Alberta Water Council added its voice this week on the allocation issue.
The council report, prepared by a committee chaired by Jim Webber of Strathmore, general manager of the Western Irrigation District, says a better system is needed for dealing with unused water allocations.
It proposes a five-year amnesty period to allow licence holders to either sell unused water allocations or lose them.
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