November 30, 2007
Water reports offer insight into Alberta's water resources
Edmonton... The Alberta government has released two reports that offer insight into the state of
Alberta’s water resources and will help inform the decisions made by government and watershed
planning and advisory groups for the next 20 years. As part of Water for Life: Alberta’s Strategy for Sustainability, Alberta Environment sought to
determine how much water is needed and used in the province. The resulting report, Current and
Future Water Use in Alberta , provides estimates of water used in the province during 2005,
summarized by sector and by river basin. The report found that because Alberta Environment issues
water licences to a maximum allocation, actual water use is lower than what has been allocated. The
report also includes projections of future water use to 2025. The second report, Information synthesis and initial assessment of the status and health of
aquatic ecosystems in Alberta: surface water quality, sediment quality and non-fish biota ,
and its accompanying summary report provide an initial assessment of the status of aquatic ecosystems
in the province. The report also provides an overview of current knowledge surrounding the province’s
major basins and water bodies, including an assessment of water quality. The majority of sites assessed
showed ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ water quality and none was rated as being of ‘poor’ quality.
“Ensuring the health and reliability of Alberta’s aquatic ecosystems is a top priority under our Water
for Life strategy,” said Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner. “Alberta Environment has
highly-qualified hydrologists and water quality experts who work with watershed groups across the
province to ensure our water resources remain protected. These reports are yet another tool to ensure we
make sound, informed water management decisions with the most up-to-date information available.” In addition to providing scientific information, the reports provide a province-wide evaluation of the
state of aquatic health and indicate where data gaps need to be addressed. Protecting and managing Alberta’s water resources is part of Premier Ed Stelmach’s plan to secure
Alberta’s future by building communities, greening our growth and creating opportunity.
To view the reports, visit www.environment.alberta.ca.
-30Attachment: Backgrounder outlining highlights of reports
Media enquiries may be directed to:
Jim Law
Jim Law
Director of Communications
Alberta Environment 780-427-6267
[email protected]
To call toll free within Alberta dial 310-0000. November 30, 2007
Highlights of water reports
Edmonton... The Alberta government has released two reports that offer insight into the quality and
quantity of Alberta’s water resources. Highlights of Current and Future Water Use in Alberta include:
As of December 2005, 9,563,218 cubic decameters of water were allocated for various purposes. Of this allocation, 9,254,931 cubic decameters were for surface water and 308,287 cubic
decameters were for groundwater. Based on available water use information for 2005, it is estimated that, overall, 34.5 per cent of
water allocated was actually used in Alberta. This is equivalent to almost twice the amount of
natural flow in the Red Deer River each year. The irrigation sector accounts for 43 per cent of the total water allocations. The industrial sector
accounts for 28 per cent of allocations, followed by 11 per cent for municipal use.
Water use in Alberta is predicted to increase to more than 3,998,600 cubic decameters by 2025 – a
21 per cent increase from current use. Highlights of Information synthesis and initial assessment of the status and health of aquatic ecosystems
in Alberta: surface water quality, sediment quality and non-fish biota include: An assessment of water quality conducted in 11 major river systems found: 11 per cent were rated as being of “excellent” quality,
64 per cent as “good”, 25 per cent as “fair”,
None was rated as being “poor” quality.
Gaps in data, knowledge and assessment process are identified for water and sediment quality.
Recommendations are made to help fill these gaps to allow more comprehensive reporting in the
future. A summary of this report is also available online. To view these reports in full, visit www.environment.alberta.ca.
-30Media enquiries may be directed to:
Jim Law
Director of Communications
Alberta Environment 780-427-6267
[email protected]
To call toll free within Alberta dial 310-0000. Alberta Government | Ministries Listing | Environment Home Page | News Releases | Top of Page | Send us your comments or questions
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