1 / 26

Managing Water to Safeguard Alberta’s Future

Managing Water to Safeguard Alberta’s Future. Athabasca River Basin Research Institute 14-March-2012 David Hill, Executive Director, Water Resources. Water is Unique . Water is ... LIFE ... all living things need water Personal, Emotional Economic, Political

yeva
Download Presentation

Managing Water to Safeguard Alberta’s Future

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Managing Water to Safeguard Alberta’s Future Athabasca River Basin Research Institute 14-March-2012 David Hill, Executive Director, Water Resources

  2. 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!

  3. Water for Life (2003, 2008) … Key Directions & Actions … Knowledge and research Partnerships Water conservation Goals & Outcomes … • Safe, secure drinking water supply • Healthy aquatic ecosystems • Reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy

  4. 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.

  5. Alberta Water Facts ...

  6. Role of Water Resources in AI-EES ... • 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 ...

  7. Role of Water Resources in AI-EES ...

  8. Research Portfolio … • 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 *

  9. Key Initiatives ... • 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

  10. Key Initiatives (IBI) ...

  11. Key Initiatives (IBI) ... Exceptional = Never Good = 10 Fair =5 Poor =3

  12. Key Initiatives (LiDAR +) ...

  13. Regional Planning (provincial government & relevant stakeholders) Enforcement Remote monitoring of losses through updated inventories Wetland Inventory Priority Setting (ecological/social/economic metrics) Regional Mapping Products “Exceptional” Wetlands High Value Wetlands Restoration Potential Improving Outcomes Site Planning (Proponent & Local Government) Approvals (provincial government) Compliance (provincial government & Proponent) Approval Modification & Denials Municipal Policy/Bylaws Density Bonuses, TDC Monitoring of permit conditions Standardized Wetland Assessment & Scoring Calculation of compensation ratios Performance of Compensation Sites Compensation Plan & Compensation Site Selection

  14. 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; JungouLui, Beijing Forestry University (China); KarimAbbaspour, 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?

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

  16. % of Watershed Contribution ...

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

  18. Blue & Green Water (SWAT) … 30 to 128 billion m3 1,225 to 1,637 billion m3 174 to 320 billion m3 Calibration to stream gauging stations

  19. Aquifers Types & Water Volumes … Alluvial aquifers Buried channels Bedrock aquifers Pore volume: 16 to 55 billion m3 6 to 1,526 billion m3 165 to 5,620 billion m3 Storage volume: <1 to 4 billion m3 6 to 210 billion m3 <1 to 2 billion m3

  20. Moving Forward ... • 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]

  21. 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]

  22. Bow River Integrated Management … • 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”

  23. Moving Forward ... • 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]

  24. Cross-Cutting Initiatives in AI-EES ... • 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

  25. Performance Measures ... • 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.

More Related