INNISFAIL – The Alberta government has released a drought plan involving multiple unprecedented water-sharing agreements and the Town of Innisfail is among municipalities insisting it will soon have its own drought management plan to present to the community.
“I think they've got everybody in the spirit of wanting to contribute and conserve,” said Gavin Bates, an Innisfail town councillor who is the town’s representative to the board of the Mountain View Regional Water Commission (MVRWC), whose membership also includes the municipalities of Olds, Bowden, Didsbury, Carstairs and Crossfield.
“Everybody won't be exactly the same. Everybody doesn't have the same uses,” said Bates.
What is most important, he added, is that a major component to Innisfail’s plan will be communication and education as the town already has conservation measures in place.
“Anything we create will require a big chunk of communication and education,” said Bates. “We're even starting on education right now because I know we posted recently the same watering restrictions we've had for a long time just to remind everybody we're in the spring now, and let’s be aware.”
Lance Colby, chair of the board for the MVRWC, told the Albertan it was important for the commission to do its share of how best to conserve water use, which will flow down to the six-member municipalities that are all tied together with the best mitigation plan possible if the drought is realized.
He noted that while the MVRWC will have an “overarching” plan for member municipalities each one will have their own.
“They'll add into it but they'll have to follow whatever cutbacks the commission makes,” said Colby. “It's up to them to decide how they want to do that in their communities.”
The province’s drought announcement on Friday, April 19 of the water-sharing agreements that include the MVRWC and Red Deer County are considered Alberta’s largest in its 118-year history.
To support the huge undertaking to blunt the drought threat, 38 of the largest and oldest water licencees in southern and central Alberta have voluntarily agreed to reduce the water they use if severe drought conditions develop this spring or summer.
The province has created four water-sharing agreements, one to cover each of the following sub-basins: the Red Deer River, the Bow River, the mainstem of the Oldman River and the upper tributaries of the Oldman River.
The Red Deer River is the most northern river in the basin and is the source of water for the six-member MVRWC.
Depending on the latest water supply forecast, MVRWC and Red Deer County will voluntarily reduce water consumption by between five and 10 per cent compared to expected 2024 summer demands (maximum from May to October) if no measures were actioned.
The government said in a media release on April 19 that the targets were reasonable and that they can be achieved without affecting indoor water use.
“I don't know how it's going to affect the businesses but until we get to that stage we will never know,” said Colby.
Primary criteria to be considered in relation to activation or deactivation of the water sharing agreement include reservoir storage at Dickson Dam, along with winter reservoir storage, with consideration for inflows and outflows.
“It’s not an onerous document. It’s a guideline for conservation that everybody is buying into. It’s a water conservation proposal and direction,” said Bates. “It's a conservation agreement that everybody's going to work towards. Nobody is going to stand there and throttle it to a specific number. There’s not going to be somebody there monitoring it.”
The provincial media release added participating industries will use only the minimum volume of water practical to maintain safe, reliable operations.
According to the province they will also look for additional water conservation opportunities.
As well, participating irrigation districts will use less water and allow other users to get their water first, and then use the remaining water available for licensed use.
These collaborative agreements are voluntary, said the media release, adding they are designed to be proactive, risk-based and agile enough to be adjusted in real time as conditions change.
To support the commitments made by the province’s largest water users, the Alberta government said in its media release it will also be working with smaller licence holders in these basins to request that they implement drought response measures and make similar water conservation commitments.
The Alberta government is also saying it will play an active role implementing water-sharing agreements in the coming months. Below are the following measures the provincial government is planning:
• monitor conditions and alert water users if a signed agreement needs to take affect in a basin;
• produce bi-weekly water supply forecasts that will be used to adjust the agreements as needed;
• optimize operations at provincially-owned infrastructure, including the Waterton, St. Mary, Oldman and Dickson reservoirs, to ensure that every drop is used;
• optimize water storage in the Ghost Reservoir and Kananaskis-area reservoirs for flood and drought mitigation, as outlined in the Alberta government’s Water Management Services Agreement with TransAlta.
In the meantime, Bates said once the technical committee of MVRWC releases its overarching set of guidelines within the next month for all its six-member communities, Innisfail’s administration will finalize its plan and present it to council for approval.
“Once they get the technical committee’s guidelines, that might give them a couple of factors that they have to work into it,” said Bates. “I'm sure it'll be as quick as they can after the May meeting.
“It will be as quickly as they can create, ‘here's what makes sense for Innisfail.”
As for the current drought state in Innisfail and the surrounding area, there has been plenty of snow during the late winter going into spring. Bates believes it may have made some difference.
“But that’s probably variable on the headwaters of different rivers. It’s probably subject to change. What happens in the next month?’’’ wondered Bates.
“Right through to June, I think, will define how serious the drought this year is. It's been kind of working its way into progress for more than a year,” he added.
“It's severe on the Bow and the Old Man (rivers) more,” said Bates. “The Red Deer is being asked to contribute to help them because the rivers join up, and it's to help them deliver the required water to Saskatchewan.”
