Alberta’s two largest river basins have become one, part of a suite of major updates to the province’s water rules that came into force this week.  

Outlined last year as part of a broad consultation around water availability in Alberta, the Peace/Slave and Athabasca basins, which already covered a huge swath of the province, have now been consolidated into the expansive Peace-Slave-Athabasca basin.

The province said oversight will be similar to how the province recognizes the Bow, Oldman, Red Deer and South Saskatchewan basins converging within Alberta as the South Saskatchewan River Basin.

Click the “before” and “now” buttons to see the changes to Alberta’s major river basins as part of the new water rules:

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“During engagement, we heard from many Albertans who identified some issues that were acting as barriers to practical and efficient water sourcing,” reads a statement attributed to Environment Minister Grant Hunter.

“Industries that span more than one major river basin can now pursue a water allocation from the most efficient and environmentally-friendly source, rather than being limited to only using water from one side of a basin boundary.” 

The statement offered this as an example: “a large cattle operation that straddles the basin boundary can now use the most practical water source without having to apply for special authorization to move water across the property for stock watering.”

Oil and gas lobby group had supported proposal

The merger of the basins was just one part of a suite of new amendments to rules that govern Alberta’s water resources, introduced in the legislature in October.

Now, the province also allows for what it calls “lower-risk” interbasin diversion elsewhere, referring to the transfer of water from one major river basin to another. 

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), a lobby group that represents the oil and gas industry, had backed the proposed merger of the Peace/Slave and Athabasca basins during the consultations. 

Energy companies with holdings on both sides of a basin boundary have long been concerned about the duplication of water infrastructure. CAPP has argued that the consolidation would allow companies to access the most suitable water sources based on availability, reducing environmental impact.

Other groups have been more skeptical about the merger of the basins and about interbasin transfers more broadly. They argue those transfers bring with them risks tied to water chemistry and invasive species.

“They’ve effectively eliminated any consideration given to [interbasin transfers], (‘lower-risk’ or not), across a drainage area that covers 53 per cent of Alberta and contains 80 per cent of the province’s river flows by volume,” wrote Kennedy Halvorson, a conservationist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, in an email.

The Indigenous water watchdog group Keepers of the Water has also said it “strongly opposed” the proposal to merge the basins.

Jason Unger, the executive director of the Environmental Law Centre, noted that the Peace and Athabasca rivers do meet naturally.

“It’s factual that they converge. But I think upstream of that convergence, they’re still separate systems,” Unger said.

“The broader questions, from community concerns of transporting water across those basins, and the implications more broadly for environmental outcomes, is kind of key in my mind.”

Previously, the Water Act prevented water from being transferred between major river basins unless the transfer was authorized by a special act of the legislature, something the provincial government says was unique in Canada.

Under new rules, what the province calls “lower-risk” transfers can now be approved through a ministerial order. It says only transfers that meet strict environmental standards and limits are eligible under this lower-risk category, while any proposed transfer that doesn’t meet standards will continue to require a special act of the legislature.

Since the Water Act was introduced in 1999, seven interbasin transfers have been approved, five of which are in place today, the province said. All were for drinking water and municipal wastewater systems.

Drought, population increase key factors

Bill 7, the Water Amendment Act, emerged from an Alberta government engagement last year with a stated goal of increasing water availability and improving the province’s water management system. It was focused on updating Alberta’s Water Act, which hadn’t seen such revisions in more than two decades.

The debate landed as the province was grappling with the implications of severe drought while simultaneously weighing how best to allocate its water resources as its population boomed.

During that consultation, irrigation districts and municipalities often floated the idea of interbasin transfers as a solution to water availability.

The new rules will also make it easier for communities to use rainwater from rooftops and to reuse wastewater, the province says.

“As far as where those resources are going, a lot of times it was not really monitored in the past,” said Josh Bishop, reeve of the County of Wetaskiwin.

“Some of those changes are looking at monitoring, so we actually have a good idea of what availability of water there is. So I think those are some positive steps.”

The amendments to provincial water rules won’t change Alberta’s longtime water priority system known as “first in time, first in right,” which sees those water users with seniority having rights to water first. 

But it will look to set consistent measurement and reporting expectations for water licence holders, the province says.