Watershed Management and Planning in the 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 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..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 Watershed Council  Prepare State of Watershed Reports Watershed Alliance North Saskatchewan  Prepare Watershed Watershed Alliance Management Plans Watershed Alliance  Contribute knowledge Red Deer  Support watershed Watershed Alliance 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  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