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SPECIAL COMMITTEE Future Actions – Priorities - Challenges (RDRMUG) SPECIAL COMMITTEE MEETING SUMMARY Meeting: Thursday, February 20, 2020, 10:00 am, City of Red Deer, Civic Yards Attendance: J. Ireland, T. Leslie, W. Blatz, R. Poole, G. Parsons, T. Ainscough, B. Shaw, K. Ryder Regrets: J. Slemp 1. Meeting called to order by Co-Chair, T. Leslie at 10:10am 1.1. Meeting Purposes: 1.1.1. Meeting with Minister update, T. Leslie 1.1.2. Review summary of meeting held January 16, 2020 1.1.3. Review/discuss RDDMUG background, relevance, core purposes, goals and strategies 1.1.4. Review Municipal “Challenge Forms” as submitted by members. (Tables included) Finalize challenges to present to RDRMUG membership 1.1.5. Identify staff directions for research and materials 1.1.6. Discuss additional “consultation or additional” resources that may be required to fulfill identified goals and strategies. 1.1.7. Review an budget implications to be recommended to RDRMUG membership 1.2. Meeting scheduled to end at1:00pm 2. Meeting with Minister J. Nixon Update: The meeting scheduled for January 31, 2020 was postpone by the Minister’s office due to other commitments. A tentative new date has been set for March 20, 2020 in Red Deer. K. Ryder advised the Committee that the original meeting package would still be relevant, however, there is time to make additions or changesDRAFT to this agenda/information package. If anyone wishes to make any additions or changes please forward to [email protected] before March 5, 2020. 3. Water Related Challenges: At the RDRMUG (MUG) January meeting the Special Committee gave an initial verbal report regarding consideration of water related challenges (issues) within the Red Deer River watershed. The Committee identified of twelve (12) possible challenges: climate change; drought; flooding; invasive species; groundwater issues; limited water storage; water security (dependable supply); water assurance (water licences - Crown reservation); water quality; watershed degradation; water management (effective and efficient use); and wildfires. 1 Before considering these challenges further, the Committee felt it important to give municipalities an opportunity to express (rank) their priority issues (concerns). Following the January meeting each MUG municipality was sent a ‘ranking worksheet’ which listed these twelve challenges and provided opportunity to identify other challenges, Municipalities were asked to rank the challenges, in order of priority of the need to address. Municipalities were requested to rank the challenges, being free to rank one or more. Thirteen (13) responses were received: County of Stettler, Lacombe County, Town of Three Hills, Town of Stettler, Village of Donalda, Town of Hanna, County of Newell, City of Red Deer, Special Areas, Village of Acme, MD of Acadia Valley and Mountain View County. The attached Table 1 shows all ranking provided by the municipalities. About half the responses ranked all twelve challenges (i.e. #1 – 12) while others ranked fewer (e.g. #1-5). On Table 1 Mountain View’s response is set apart from the other twelve as it chose to rank all challenges as #1, #2 or #3. The top five challenges are: 1. Water security – 32 points Challenge: To avoid (at all times) an Insufficient quantity or quality of water in the Red Deer River that would require a water licence or portion thereof to be suspended Goal: The year-round availability of a sufficient supply of good quality water to municipalities, now and far into the future 2. Water quality – 26 point Challenge: natural and human impacts on source water to reduce quality Goal: Good quality source water reaching the municipal/regional water treatment system 3. Drought – 22 points Challenge: lack of water management infrastructure, topography and extent of the watershed (even just the eastern portion of the watershed), multi users and sectors Goal: A drought plan that identifies threats and consequences, addresses ways to be drought resilient, identifies strategies and actions to effectively improve the availability of water to help offset the impacts of drought (e.g. storage) and outlines how to manage and share water in times of shortage DRAFT 4. Water assurance – 18 points Challenge: rarely used provision; most/al(?) current municipal licences are larger than present and 25-year forecast needs; then why not a reservation for other water use sectors? 5. Goal: The ‘reservation’ of water (i.e. a Crown Reservation – a special water licence) that sets aside water to sustain the water needs of municipalities served by the Red Deer River (system) far into the future 6. Water storage – 16 points Challenge: expense, environmental impacts, competing needs for storage in southern Alberta Goal: Additional on-stream and/or off-stream storage to provide a variety of water management options and benefits; local/individual municipal water storage situations considered 2 The next three are: 7. water management – 14 points 8. watershed impacts and wildfires (tied) – 10 points. All challenges are in some way inter-related, but from a regional (watershed wide) sense, some more than others. MUG’s recent work on integrating watershed management and source water protection in many ways addresses what municipalities can do to promote good water quality, encouraging municipalities to do their part. 4. RDRMUG relevance, Goals and Strategies: Round table discussion included the acknowledgement of the following points: MUGs remains relevant as a viable and essential platform for municipalities to proactively share and take action on water issues within the Red Deer River Watershed. As the RDRMUG represents only a “single sector” it is able to focus on the municipal perspective of all water issues within the basin. This is a major difference from the Watershed Alliance whose mandate is to represent all sectors and individuals. MUGs membership is comprised of urban and rural members from all areas of the Red Deer River, therefore the diverse needs and concerns of members are recognized in areas of advocating and project focus. MUGs provides an opportunity to provide and share educational and informational avenues of water related issues including conservation, water quantity and quality, future water security (including future additional storage), and awareness of activities that affect water protection. MUGs is to identify municipal responsibilities along with those key roles that the Provincial and Federal Governments relating to water issues. Focus on identified threats and challenges identified by members. Be flexible with priorities if conditions change. i.e. droughts, floods, other. Recommend to RDRMUG membership the need to provide a Workshop on Integrating Municipal Planning with Source Water Protection and Watershed Planning to municipalities within/or attached to the Red Deer River Watershed. 5. Agenda items not dealt with are toDRAFT be brought forward to future Committee Meetings. 6. Additional documents include: Watershed challenges Table 1 and 2 (Prepared by B. Shaw) – Pages 6 - 7 Report to Special Committee (Prepared by B. Shaw) – Pages 8 - 10 Water Management Options and Storage of Water – General Background (Prepared by B. Shaw) - Page 11 WaterSmart report on RDR Watershed and sustainability – Pages 12 - 14 Click here for MPE Report on potential storage (2009) Click here for WaterSmart Report on Red Deer River modeling (2015) Click here for AMEC Report on future storage (2014) 3 7. Executive Director Report: For information and consideration the following points are taken from the original RDRMUG founding documents along with a facilitated goals and strategy session from 2011 with a update/review in 2013 : Founding Documents – 2005 Serving a Distinct Need The RDRMUG provides a unique and essential platform for us to work together towards our shared goals. We are different from such groups as the Watershed Alliance in our membership and purpose: . We involve every municipality and only municipalities, whereas the Alliance has representation from every sector. We are represented by elected municipal officials, while the Alliance has individual and administrative representation. RDRMUG focus is on policy, long term sustainability and quality. Mandate and Objectives Purposes of the RDRMUG include, but not limited to: . To provide a forum for municipalities to discuss water supply, water use and water quality. Serve as an advocate of municipal interests in the supply, use, delivery and quality of water. Three Key Goals: . Safe secure supply of drinking water for all residents of the region. Reliable quality water supplies for a sustainable economy in each of our municipalities. Healthy aquatic ecosystems. Strategies for Achieving Goals: “Together We Are Too Big Not to be Noticed” . The business model is that of a voluntary association of municipalities within the Red Deer River Basin or who receive their water needs through a water service pipeline service . Core function of RDRMUG is to influence policy making in those organizations with authority over our water supplies. RDRMUG is represented at meetings by elected policy makers from member municipalities. Currently represent 35 municipalitiesDRAFT with an estimated population of 300,000. (Currently) Red Deer River Basin is home to 7 MLA’s including several Cabinet Ministers, one being the Minister of Environment. “We Are Independent With a Clear, Tight Focus” . RDRMUG is a totally independent, self-funded association. We will not be dependent upon other agencies for funding.

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