Converging Stresses on Alberta's Water
"To a water expert, looking ahead is like the view from a locomotive, 10 seconds before the train wreck. Sometime in the coming century, the increasing human demand for water, the increasing scarcity of water due to climate warming, and one of the long droughts of past centuries will collide, and Albertans will learn first-hand what water scarcity is all about. Water scarcity will become one of the most important economic and environmental issues of the 21st century in the western prairie provinces"
Water: the drop of life. We need only to look through this one lens to realize how vulnerable Alberta is to climate change.
"Increases in water scarcity represent the most serious climate risk [on Canada's Prairies]" states a 2007 Natural Resources Canada report. "Recent trends and future projections include lower summer streamflows, falling lake levels, retreating glaciers, and increasing soil- and surface-water deficits. A trend of increased aridity will most likely be realized through a greater frequency of dry years," states From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007 Prairies.
Converging stresses from industry, agriculture and population growth are already putting a strain on water resources across the province, but climate change is throwing a wild card into the mix. By taking community action to protect and preserve water resources, we can ensure that we live within our means and act as stewards for the future.
While future projections may vary, some of the most severe problems with climate change are expected to include shifts in the distribution of plants, birds and mammals to higher latitudes and altitudes; earlier plant leafing and flowering; decreasing water levels; thinning and receding glaciers; thinning and receding polar ice; increasing ocean temperatures; melting permafrost, rising sea levels; longer ice-free periods on lakes, and increasing ground temperatures. (Read more about what's happening to Alberta's water from the Environmental Research and Studies Centre at the University of Alberta.)
According to the Pembina Institute's report, Heating Up in Alberta, available summertime fresh water resources are expected to decrease as a result of climate change. As a result, the province of Alberta faces the challenge of meeting its growing demand for water while dealing with a changing climate. The report points out that there will be declining summer flows of river water while water demand is projected to increase due to energy production and a growing population.
Drought
Tens of thousands of farmers in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan were the hardest hit in the spring of 2009. The area known as the Palliser Triangle (an area stretching from west-central Saskatchewan to central Alberta, is home to a large portion of Canada's farmland). This region received less precipitation this summer than in any other year over the past half century
Could the 2009 drought be a sign of things to come? Alberta's semi-arid prairie is prone to drought, but the second drought in a decade fits into climate change predictions for severe drought more often. Alberta suffered from another drought in 2002.
Melting Glaciers
Vast expanses of glaciers in the southern Rocky Mountains are a vital
source of water for rivers all over western Canada. In the eastern slopes, these glaciers are considered the water towers for Alberta and
Saskatchewan. By storing snow in the winter and releasing it in the heat of
prairie summers, melting glaciers provide nearly half of the summertime flow in rivers such as the Bow
during dry years.
Rising average global temperatures are causing glaciers to melt at an increasing rate. While increased melting may increase water quantity in Alberta rivers over the short-term, overall, climate change models predict an overall shortage in Alberta's water supply.
According to Dr. Schindler, a leading international expert on Alberta's water, climate models predict a warming of two to three degrees by the middle of the 21st century. While climate models predict slight increases in precipitation, these increases would not be enough to courteract the increased evaporation of water caused by increasing temperatures, especially in late summer.
"For the past 30 years, snowpacks have been getting smaller and melting earlier. The major glaciers of the eastern slopes have lost 25 to 37 percent of their mass in the past century. In nearby Glacier National Park in Montana, glaciers are predicted to disappear within 25 years. In short, glaciers and snowpacks will continue to dwindle, and they will not return," Dr. Schindler writes.
Finding Solutions
Alberta's Water for Life Strategy plays a critical role in connecting citizens to local and provincial initiatives. There are numerous ways to get involved through stewardship groups, Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils or other partners. Download the Water for Life Strategy document.
Water Matters is an independent non-governmental organization with expertise and resources dedicated to meeting the province-wide need for watershed protection.
The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance's, based out of the University of Victoria, is a centre for transdisciplinary research that investigates and promotes sustainability. Its Water Sustainability Project seeks to establish a new water paradigm based on conservation, stewardship and sustainability.
Water Facts in Alberta
- The average Albertan uses 350 liters (90-100 gallons) per day.
- Canada ranks 28 out of 29 in OECD countries for per capita water consumption.
- Twenty per cent of the world's drinking water is in Canada, but Alberta accounts for only 2.2% of Canada's fresh water.
- While 80% of Alberta's water supply lies in the Northern part of the province, 80% of our water demand comes from the Southern half of the province.
Success Stories
Okotoks
Good to the last drop: Family goes extra mile
Turner Valley
Advocate for safe drinking water: Roxanne Walsh
Cochrane
Taking a proactive stance on water conservation
More information
Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective: Impacts on Water Supply
Environmental Protection Agency Climate Change Fact Sheet
Natural Resources Defense Council Water Fact Sheet
CBC report: Gardeners, ranchers face shortage of spring showers
