Major water licence holders talk sharing at meetings

Initial meetings to create emergency water sharing agreements ahead of an expected drought this summer took place recently and included nearly 50 large water licence holders, the Medicine Hat News has learned.

Last month, the province’s Environment Ministry called for large water users to work out voluntary agreements to reduce water use this summer and temporarily make unused portions available in four major river basins.

The first of three major meetings led by WaterSmart Solutions was held Feb. 9. The province has said one overarching agreement in each basin should be in place by the end of March.

Irrigation reservoirs in southern Alberta remain 50 per cent below typical winter storage levels, the St. Mary’s Irrigation District announced Thursday, noting the hope is to capture more runoff than usual this spring.

SMRID stated current storage sits at 285,000 acre-feet - enough water to service one acre one-foot deep with water - where the “winter storage target” is 611,000 acre-feet.

The larger number is about 80 per cent of total capacity in the Waterton, St. Mary and Milk River Ridge reservoirs.

Snowpack increased compared to January, though “well below” average, according to the notice.

“We know that when it comes to the weather, we can only hope for the best and plan for the worst,” wrote board chair George Lohues. “We are grateful for recent snowfalls and are hopeful that the mountains in our watersheds will receive the significant snowfalls in late February, March and April that we need to bolster our snowpack.”

It continues, “The majority of the snowfall is not received until February - April in a normal year. We have yet to receive our meaningful snowfall.”

SMRID has committed to monthly updates since last fall and encourages members to consider the likelihood of having less water available when selecting crops for the next growing season.

Changes to allocation will be announced at SMRID’s annual general meeting in April.

The Eastern Irrigation District said in December it had reached “typical” winter levels at major reservoirs and Lake Newell after early shutdown of water delivery and diverting water off-stream in the fall.

Media reports in Brooks state that members of the Eastern Irrigation District have been warned to expect the initial allotment this spring to be about threequarters of normal, 18-inches per acre, subject to adjustments. More could be known when the EID holds its annual general meeting on March 5.