Sustaining Alberta’s water wealth

By Robert Powell & Mathieu Lebel
As we recently shared, over the past few months, the Government of Alberta has undertaken a public Water Conversation (WC) intended to engage Albertans on water issues it has identified as priorities. In addition to participating in one of the consultation sessions, WWF provided a written submission outlining our perspectives on the WC process and water priorities in Alberta more broadly. Below is a summary of some of the main points and recommendations.

Northern pike (Esox lucius) – a common fish in Alberta waters.

While the WC represents a positive expression of the Government of Alberta’s commitment to engage Albertans in water management, fundamental questions regarding the process remain unanswered.
These include:
How will the Government of Alberta use the information gathered during the WC?
It is unclear what actions and next steps will follow.
How does the WC relate to or how is it different from other water initiatives in Alberta?
It is unclear how the WC complements or is different from the Water for Life strategy and its associated key directions, actions and outcomes.
When will discussions on other water issues previously identified as priorities take place?
Until the announcement of the WC process, WWF, like many stakeholders, was expecting the next provincial scale water management consultation to focus on the long awaited next steps of the Water Allocation Management System Review.
How were the WC’s four priority areas selected from the broader list of water issues the province faces?
Accelerating the implementation of environmental flows (also known as instream flow needs or protected water) in water management practice across the province has long been recognized as a priority to protect the social, economic, and environmental benefits healthy water bodies provide Albertans. Yet the implementation of environmental flows was not a priority in the WC despite Alberta being recognized as a leader in the assessment of environmental flows.
To advance this particular issue, our submission examines and provides recommendations on the implementation of environmental flows, including a review of the experiences of other jurisdictions in this area. It also includes recommendations on the WC’s ‘hydraulic fracturing and water’ priority.
We look forward to clarity on the next steps of the WC process so that we may engage more effectively and continue to contribute to sustaining Alberta’s water wealth.