South Saskatchewan Regional Plan Strategy 4.10 Reporting: Water Storage Opportunities Study

4.10 - Continue to develop an optimized water management system in the region.

This will build on completed work including:

A water storage opportunities study for the South Saskatchewan River Basin that will be complete by the end of 2015. Included in the study are the Oldman, Bow, South Saskatchewan and Red Deer rivers. This planning level study will provide advice to government and may be used to guide future planning and decision-making for the potential development of additional water storage in the region and the assessment of on-stream and off-stream storage sites. Additional storage could reduce the risk to existing water users such as irrigators, municipalities, industry and the environment, as well as improve protection of the aquatic environment and mitigate the climate change variability in the region.

Water supply in the South Saskatchewan River Basin in Alberta is naturally subject to highly variable flows. Expanding population, economic growth, and climate variability add additional challenges to managing our limited water supply. Through Strategy 4.10 in the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF) committed to developing an optimized water management system in the region. To deliver on this commitment, AF completed a study titled Water Storage Opportunities in the South Saskatchewan River Basin in Alberta. The study explored opportunities for additional storage to improve water security in the future, while respecting inter-provincial and international apportionment agreements and other legislative requirements. Click here to learn more about the study and its conclusions on water storage opportunities in the region.

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For more information about the content of this document, contact Rowshon Begam.
This document is maintained by Stacey Tames.
This information published to the web on October 28, 2016.
Last Reviewed/Revised on July 17, 2018.