Watershed Management and Planning in the North Saskatchewan River Basin
Presentation to City of Spruce Grove Dec. 14, 2015 North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA)
A multi-stakeholder, non-profit society (Incorporated 2000) Applying for Charitable Status Appointed WPAC under Water for Life by GOA in 2005 Current Staff: 6.4 FTE 2015-16 Budget: $675K cash • Large in-kind support Offices and IT provided by City of Edmonton Water for Life Strategy (2003)
Goals Safe, secure drinking water Healthy aquatic ecosystems Reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy Approaches Knowledge and research Water conservation Create partnerships (WPACs) to “lead watershed planning and foster stewardship” www.waterforlife.alberta.ca Watershed Planning & Advisory Councils
Eleven WPACs appointed WPACs collaborate
regularly Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance Athabasca WPAC role under Water for Watershed Council Life: Lesser Slave Lake Watershed Council Prepare State of Watershed Beaver River Reports Watershed Alliance North Saskatchewan Prepare Watershed Watershed Alliance Management Plans Battle River Watershed Alliance Contribute knowledge Red Deer Support watershed Watershed Alliance Bow River management work by Basin Council
municipalities and local Oldman watershed stewardship groups Watershed Council SEAWA Milk River Watershed Council 57,000 km2 NSWA Executive Members
President: Reeve Pat Alexander (Clearwater County)
Vice-Pres: Ken Crutchfield (Wildlife Society)
Treasurer: Dr. Steve Craik (EPCOR)
Secretary: Candace Vanin (AAFC) NSWA Board Members
Dr. L. Danielson (Northeast Capital Ind. Assoc.) David Curran (City of Edmonton) Marc Gressler (Brazeau County) John McNab (Parkland County) Dwight Dach (County of St. Paul) Glenn Isaac (TransAlta) Jason Wilkins (Husky Energy) Bob Winship (Weyerhaeuser Co.) Al Corbett (Drainage Council) Bill Fox (Alberta Beef Producers) Alison Ronson (CPAWS) Jamie Bruha (Alberta Environment and Parks) Tony Lemay (Alberta Energy Regulator) John Thompson (WatreCon Consulting) Observers (First Nations, Metis) Staff
Billie Milholland (Communications) Elisa Brose (Administration) Gordon Thompson (Technical Coordinator) Melissa Logan (Planning Coordinator) Marilou Montemayor (Planning Coordinator) Mary Ellen Shain (Planning Coordinator) Mara Erickson (Stewardship Coordinator) Jennifer Regier (Student Intern) David Trew (Executive Director) NSWA 2015-18
Strategic Plan - 4 Goals: Provide leadership in watershed planning Promote the development of watershed knowledge Promote collaborative planning and management Establish a strong operational model for NSWA Major features: •Approaching 1.4 million people •20 counties, urban growth •2 hydro-electric reservoirs •3 coal fired plants + gas •Large petrochemical sector •Large agriculture sector •Large forestry sector •Oil and gas exploration •12 water sub-basins •Extensive recreational demand Green Area
Jasper NP
Banff NP NSWA Reports
North Saskatchewan River Guide (2002) Community Watershed Stewardship Toolkit (2002) Canadian Heritage Rivers Program (2005) State of the Watershed Report (2005) Municipal Resource Guide (2006) 18 technical reports (2006-15) 9 planning reports (2006-15)
NSR IWMP Recommendations
Outlines actions and responsibilities for: 1) Water quality protection 2) Water supply management 3) Aquatic ecosystem protection 4) Groundwater protection 5) Alignment of land and water planning at the regional scale Distributed to Municipalities, GOA/GC Ministries, MLAs, MPs, Industry Sectors, NGOs Key Implementation Strategy:
Municipal Watershed Partnerships Watershed Management Partnerships
Vermilion River Watershed Alliance Sturgeon River Watershed Alliance Headwaters Alliance Lake Stewardship – Wabamun, Mayatan, Jackfish, Isle, St. Anne Capital Region Water Management Framework Contacts
Executive Director – [email protected] – 780-496-3474; 780-868-8822 General – [email protected] Link – www.nswa.ab.ca Thank you! Water Supply Studies 7.2 Billion m3/yr Trend↓ -1.4%/decade over 97 years
~2% of annual flow from glaciers
50% of annual flow to Sask - PPWB (1969)
Water supply to the Capital Region: ~90% comes from 4 upper sub-basins