Managing Water to Safeguard Alberta’s Future

Athabasca River Basin Research Institute14-March-2012

David Hill, Executive Director, Water Resources

Water is Unique ...

• Water is ...– LIFE ... all living things need

water– Personal, Emotional– Economic, Political– Embedded in everything

we do and everything we need (want)

– In most instances there is no replacement for it!

Water for Life (2003, 2008) …

Goals & Outcomes …

• Safe, secure drinking water supply

• Healthy aquatic ecosystems

• Reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy

Key Directions & Actions …

• Knowledge and research• Partnerships• Water conservation

Alberta Water Facts ...

• Diverse landscape ...– Alpine– Boreal forests– Parkland– Semi-arid

• Diverse water uses ...– Irrigation (71%)– Commercial & Industrial (15%)– Cities, Towns (5%)– Water Management (4%)– Habitat (2%)– Agriculture (2%)– Other (1%)

Alberta has 2.2% of Canada’s freshwater.80% of the water is in the north, while 80% of the population is in the south.

Finance & Real Estate, 14.8%

Construction 9.6%

Retail & Wholesale 8.6%

Transporation & Utilities 6.3%

Public Administration 3.8%

Education 3.8%

Energy 25.7%

Business & Commercial Services 9.4%

Manufacturing 6.2%

Health 5.3%

Tourism & Consumer Services 5.0% Agriculture 1.5%

Alberta GDP 2010, $263.5 Billion

Alberta Water Facts ...

Fund and coordinate water research in support of Water for Life (2003, 2008) and Alberta’s Water Research Strategy (2006)

Serve as a ‘knowledge broker’ ... provide analysis and context about water research to decision and policy makers, water practitioners, and ensure the information is understandable, relevant and accessible

Employ a global view ... seek out the best research, information & knowledge regionally, provincially, nationally and internationally

Where ideas flow ...

Role of Water Resources in AI-EES ...

Role of Water Resources in AI-EES ...

VISION:Alberta is globally recognized as a leader in managing its water resources for people,

the environment and the economy.Water Security, Risk &

VulnerabilityWatershed Stewardship & Ecosystem Management

Conservation, Efficiency & Productivity of Water Use

MISSION:To promote an integrated and collaborative water research and innovation system

focused on providing science and evidence based analysis and technologies to ‐inform decisions and support actions needed for effective, adaptive and sustainable

water management.

Started operations in October 2007, with $30 million investment by Alberta, leveraged to $50 million

Attracted Dr. Alexander (Sascha) J. B. Zehnder as Scientific Advisor [Global Reach]

More than 35 initiatives completed or underway Almost 50% of portfolio with research teams at Alberta universities

& more than 10 international 30% focussed on water issues in oil sands region 10% of portfolio on knowledge mobilization *

Research Portfolio …

Wetland Health: Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing Alberta’s Wetland Policy Suzanne Bayley, Lee Foote, Naomi Krogman, University of Alberta; Irena Creed,

University of Western Ontario Bring together leading natural and social science disciplines Develop a pragmatic science based approach to wetland classification‐ Developing new tools to assess wetland function and wetland value Support decisions made by governments (provincial & local) in responding

to developments that may impact wetlands

Key Initiatives ...

Key Initiatives (IBI) ...

Key Initiatives (IBI) ...

Exceptional = Never

Good = 10

Fair =5

Poor =3

Key Initiatives (LiDAR +) ...

Compliance (PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT &

PROPONENT)

Approvals (PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT)

Site Planning(PROPONENT & LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

Compensation Plan &Compensation Site Selection

Monitoring of permit conditions

Calculation of compensation ratios

Standardized Wetland Assessment & Scoring

Regional Planning (PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT & RELEVANT

STAKEHOLDERS)

Wetland Inventory

REGIONAL MAPPING PRODUCTS

“Exceptional” WetlandsHigh Value WetlandsRestoration Potential

Performance of Compensation Sites

Municipal Policy/BylawsDensity Bonuses, TDC

Approval Modification &

Denials

Priority Setting(ecological/social/economic metrics)

Enforcement

Remote monitoring of losses through updated inventories

Impr

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utco

mes

Key Initiatives ...

The Dynamics of Alberta’s Water Supplies Alexander Zehnder, David Hill, AI-EES; Jon Fennell [Project Manager], Worley

Parsons Ltd., Shawn Marshal, University of Calgary; Stefan Kienzle, University of Lethbridge; Jungou Lui, Beijing Forestry University (China); Karim Abbaspour, EAWAG (Switzerland), Tara Hadler, University of Basel (Switzerland)

How much water is there? Where is it? When is it? How is it used? What are the risks and vulnerabilities?

Water Yield (m3/km2/yr x 1000) ...

% of Watershed Contribution ...

Blue & Green Water (SWAT) …174 to 320 billion m3 1,225 to 1,637 billion m3 30 to 128 billion m3

Blue & Green Water (SWAT) …174 to 320 billion m3 1,225 to 1,637 billion m3 30 to 128 billion m3

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Aquifers Types & Water Volumes …

Storage volume:

Pore volume: 16 to 55 billion m3

<1 to 2 billion m3

6 to 1,526 billion m3

<1 to 4 billion m3

165 to 5,620 billion m3

6 to 210 billion m3

Alluvial aquifers Bedrock aquifersBuried channels

Water Security, Risk & Vulnerability Small and Cluster Systems for Water Treatment

and Wastewater Treatment, $300K over 2 years [w/ AEW, AMA, AAMDC, AUMA]

AB-Netherlands Groundwater Initiative, $240K over 18 months [50/50] [w/ AEW, AGS, Netherlands]

Conjunctive Surface Water and Groundwater Management, $600K over 4 years [w/ AEW, Okotoks, U of C, U of Waterloo]

Moving Forward ...

Watershed Stewardship & Ecosystem Management Stakeholder-Led Integrated and Adaptive Watershed

Management, $4.5 M over 4 years [CCEMC Funding, Phase I] [w/ AEW, SRD, AFRD, WPACs, Local Governments, Water Practitioners, U of L, U of C]

Functional Environmental Flow Management, $1.2 M over 4 years [AEW, SRD, AFRD, WPACs, U of L, U of C]

Scoping Stage … Oil Sands Saline Wetland Marsh Demonstration Project Ecological Goods and Services Pilot [w/ AI-Bio]

Moving Forward ...

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• Advanced analytical tools and models developed with stakeholders

• Leveraged existing models & data sets (e.g. WRMM, OASIS, Irrigation Demand Model, AESO electricity prices)

• Operating logic set by experienced water managers & leading scientists

• Results presented in user-defined performance measures

• Scenarios challenged by “stress tests”

Bow River Integrated Management …

Conservation, Efficiency & Productivity of Water Use Economic Analysis of Source Water Protection, $200K

over 2 years [w/ AEW, SRD, AFRD, WPACs, Local Governments, U of A, U of Waterloo]

Assessing Improvements in Water Use Efficiency and Productivity in Irrigated Agriculture $200K over 12 months [50/50] [w/ AFRD, AEW, SRD, Irrigation Districts]

Water-Food-Energy-Health [Environmental & Human] Nexus [scoping of initiatives underway]

Moving Forward ...

Regional water quantity & quality issues in the oil sands region; development of standards for return of water to the environment, wetlands as a feature of reclamation activities, regional water management & sharing opportunities

Water use & opportunities related to renewable energy & emerging fuels; alternate uses of produced water, integration with new economic opportunities

Cross-Cutting Initiatives in AI-EES ...

Initiatives are consistent with strategic directions of government, industry and public – focus on Water for Life objectives & emerging Alberta Water Research & Innovation Strategy,

Capitalizing on Alberta expertise in academia, industry and water practitioner community,

Building science and adaptive capacity through initiatives with practical place-based and evidence supported outcomes,

Sharing lessons learned, practices, tools, provincially, nationally and internationally.

Performance Measures ...