As Western Canada enters a third year of drought, the security of its freshwater supply is in peril and the systems in place have not adapted to the current challenges
As Western Canada enters a third year of drought, it is becoming clear that the security of the region’s freshwater supply is in peril, and that the systems in place to manage water responsibly have not adapted to the current climate challenges.
Canadians are seeing the effects already. Before summer arrived this year, Alberta had 25 water shortage advisories in place. At the same time, close to 20 per cent of B.C.’s landmass was deemed to be drought level 4 or 5 – where adverse impacts are likely or almost certain. Many parts of the province imposed water conservation measures in April to ensure critical supply for drinking water and other needs.
It is an alarming picture and, in May, the tinder-dry conditions forced 4,700 people in the Peace River community of Fort Nelson to evacuate owing to wildfire threat. In the heart of the delta, firefighters were battling a string of blazes in Alberta’s Wood Buffalo Nation Park in June. “We must now prepare for water shortages of duration and magnitude not evident in hydrometric records or our collective awareness,” warned Dr. Wolfe, a professor from the Faculty of Science at Wilfred Laurier University.
Despite persistent concerns of drought, a mobile home in in Merritt sit a couple feet off the ground to prevent any damage from flooding. The province has experienced a recent wave of unprecedented deadly floods, due in part to climate change, also a factor in the decline of quality drinking water. Geologist Diana Allen, a professor of earth sciences at Simon Fraser University, has been monitoring B.C.’s surface and groundwater in light of increasingly extreme weather patterns. Although the province’s data is limited, she’s concerned about what she is seeing.
And while human demand for water is growing, there is less water in recent years to share. “Drought is rapidly becoming a serious threat to water security and aquatic ecosystems in British Columbia,” wrote Auston Chhor, a salmon habitat biologist for Raincoast Conservation Foundation, in a position paper released in April.
In California’s Pajaro Valley, researchers were able to test whether putting a price on water would reduce demand – and the study showed that it did. The valley is home to a US$1-billion agriculture industry, almost all of it irrigated by groundwater. When Pajaro Valley increased rates in one of its water zones by 21 per cent, demand declined by 22 per cent.
Beavers were wiped out in this region decades ago, and the wetlands they once helped create and maintain as a result of their dam constructions are degrading. Howarth Creek drained excess rainfall and snowmelt before water could percolate into the ground. That meant groundwater that is critical for keeping fresh water flowing in surrounding communities wasn’t being replenished – an invisible problem that is only now becoming evident.
Aud-Headline Appwebview Yessnap Water Drought City Groundwater Merritt Province Demand Work Simon Fraser University Hall Western Canada
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