October, 2010In late October, Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils from throughout the province gathered in Cypress Hills for their annual conference. The seventh meeting of its kind, this year’s “Summit on the Summit” brought together both professionals and volunteers to discuss environmental and economic challenges facing watersheds in Alberta. Strategies and tools needed to address the cumulative impacts of population growth, economic development and climate change on Alberta land and water were front and center during the discussions.

Under the Alberta Government’s Water for Life strategy, each major river basin within the province has a Watershed Planning and Advisory Council (WPAC) directed by a diverse board of directors composed of members living in the respective watersheds.

Piper Major David Trew, Executive Director of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, piping Honourable Rob Renner, Minister of Environment into the Cypress Hills.

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Watershed Groups Gather To Take Action On Challenges And Opportunities Facing Alberta’s Watersheds

The annual summit provides a venue for attendees to

discuss their current projects and this year the WPACs also brainstormed future

opportunities and directions.

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The WPACs are tasked with developing both a “State of the Watershed” report and a... “Watershed Management Plan” specific to the unique environmental, economic and social conditions of their region. The annual summit provides a venue for attendees to discuss their current projects and this year the WPACs also brainstormed future opportunities and directions. Representatives of the ten current WPACs, from the newly-minted Athabasca Watershed Council to the well-established Bow River Basin Council and North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, agreed that while individual WPACs have made significant progress in assessing the health of their own watersheds, the time has come to strengthen their bonds by sharing experiences, resources and strategies. They believe that these actions are particularly timely as new WPACs undertake their first projects and as seasoned WPACs take their management plans from paper to implementation.

The WPAC Executive Directors each spoke briefly of their current initiatives including water quality monitoring on the Milk River, Integrated Watershed Management Planning for the Oldman and Red Deer river basins and the innovative “online” Web-based State of the Watershed management tool of SEAWA, the WPAC for the South Saskatchewan River Basin. Participants also heard about the outreach and education programs of the Lesser Slave Watershed Council, the “Spirit of the Watershed” art initiative of the Battle River Watershed Alliance and the Aquatic Ecosystem Health program of the Beaver River Watershed Alliance. The Athabasca group issued a brief “stay tuned for great things,” Mike Kelly, Chair of the Bow

River Basin Council, spoke of the “Bow River Project,” and several members of the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance highlighted different initiatives. David Trew, Executive Director of the North Saskatchewan WPAC, had this to say,

“I’ve observed a steady growth in the quality and diversity of watershed planning and scientific work being undertaken by WPACs over the past couple of years. There has also been a steady maturation in our people: our staff, Directors and diverse members represent an extensive human capacity now being applied to Alberta’s watershed management needs. I’m most impressed with the willingness of WPACs to step forward, provide leadership and look to the future needs of Albertans, as was always envisioned under Water for Life: Alberta’s Strategy for Sustainability.”

Keynote speaker David Marshall, Executive Director of British Columbia’s Fraser Basin Council, added a valuable perspective to future watershed planning and management in Alberta. The Fraser Basin Council, a not for profit organization, has a unique collaborative governance structure with representatives from the four orders of government including First Nations, the private sector and civil society. Marshall complimented the WPACs on their excellent work and offered to work with Alberta Environment and the WPACs to enhance working relationships between Alberta and British Columbia on watershed management.

“WPACs are an important example of partnerships in action,” said the Honourable Rob Renner, Minister of Environment, as he closed the summit. “WPACs have a significant role in the future of water management, as they help bring stakeholders together and raise awareness of Albertans’ role in conservation and stewardship.”

Members of SEAWA, the South Saskatchewan River Basin WPAC had a few additional comments after the conference. SEAWA Vice-Chair Gary Bierback said,

“The WPAC Summits give me an opportunity to inform the other WPACs and citizens of the province of the important conservation, efficiency and productivity work the Irrigation Sector has already achieved and has a desire to continue to help achieve the Water for Life strategies.” Dr. Peter Wallis, Chair of SEAWA’s State of the Watershed Committees and Dean of Science at Medicine Hat College added, “Medicine Hat College is a strong supporter of SEAWA in the South Saskatchewan River Basin and looks forward to working with other WPACs in the development of Integrated Watershed Management Plans.”

Watershed Planningand Advisory CouncilsAnnual WPAC Summit 2010

“Summit on a Summit” Keynote Speakers: David Marshall, Executive Director, Fraser Basin Council

Honourable Rob Renner, Minister of Environment, MLA Medicine Hat

summit co-hosts

welcome all representatives

Watershed Groups Gather continued...

Image: The South Saskatchewan River Upstream of Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The Alberta Water Council (AWC) is a multi-stakeholder partnership comprised of 25 members from industry, government and non-government organizations. Industry members include those representing petrochemical, irrigation, mining, cropping and livestock activities; non-government members include Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) such as SEAWA, as well as wetland, fish, and wild land conservation groups. Established in 2004 and incorporated as a not-for-profit society in 2007, the primary focus of the council is to “monitor and steward the implementation of Alberta’s Water for Life strategy and to champion the achievement of its three outcomes: a safe, secure drinking water supply; healthy aquatic ecosystems; and reliable, quality water supplies for a sustainable economy.”

The AWC held a general business meeting on October 28th and recently issued an update on several of their activities, including the following:

MOVING FROM WORDS TO ACTIONS PROJECT TEAM

The purpose of this project is to improve coordination and communication between and among Water for Life partnerships so they can identify and more effectively address shared strategic priorities. The project team has already met three times and is in the process of developing a stakeholder survey, which will test potential solutions to address identified coordination and communication gaps. Bob Phillips from SEAWA and David Samm from the Battle River Watershed are representing WPAC Executive Directors on the team; with Bob as one of the Co-Chairs.

NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION PROJECT TEAM

The board approved in principle the draft working definition for non-point source pollution, as developed by the Non-Point Source Pollution Project Team. This definition will guide the work of the team’s consultant and will ensure consistency in the use of the term.

SECTOR PLANNING FOR WATER CONSERVATION, EFFICIENCY & PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT TEAM

The seven major water-using sectors voluntarily committed to develop water conservation, efficiency and productivity (CEP) plans by December 2010 through their various sector associations. The CEP plans will take a sector-based approach to meeting specific conservation, efficiency and productivity targets, with implementation at the regional level, on a company by company, or community by community basis. At this time, two sectors have completed their plans and are now implementing. It is also expected that another two sectors will complete their plans early in the new-year. (Note: the seven sectors are irrigation, municipal, power generation, oil and gas, mining, chemical and petrochemical, and forestry.)

TWO NEW POTENTIAL PROJECTS IDENTIFIED

Two new potential projects were presented to the board: Riparian Land Conservation and Management Policy, sponsored by the WPAC Collective, and River Valley Corridor Management, sponsored by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. These were added to the list of potential work compiled at the last board meeting.

LAUNCH OF A NEW WORK GROUP

Board members selected the “Riparian Land Conservation and Management Policy” as their new project and established a Working Group to further scope out this initiative. This project would potentially review the current “state of” riparian land conservation and management in Alberta; conduct a literature review on riparian setbacks; and make recommendations that could contribute to the development of a consistent approach to riparian land conservation and management across Alberta.

Alberta Water Council Update

The South Saskatchewan RiverMembers of SEAWA are undeniably interested in the future of the South Saskatchewan River, particularly the sub-basin within which we live, but it would be a mistake to think that we are the only ones concerned; the South Saskatchewan River, the “lifeblood of the prairies,” figured prominently in the October 2010 issue of Canadian Geographic devoted to water and climate. In an article entitled “Water For a Dry Land” author Allan Casey examined the overlapping issues of climate change, future flow and management of the South Saskatchewan River and came to a less than optimistic conclusion; climate change could have “grave consequences for the river in the not too distant future” while “we have hardly begun to understand the river of the present, let alone manage it.”

South East Alberta Watershed Alliance • 721-97 Carry Drive SE • Medicine Hat • Alberta • T1B 3M6 • Canada

ph: 403.488.8110 • admin@seawa.ca • www.seawa.ca

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For Upcoming Events:Please check our website www.seawa.ca or

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Experimental Green Roof at Olds College, Olds, Alberta.

Rain Catchment System Calgary Water Centre, Calgary, Alberta.

Low Impact DevelopmentLow impact development (LID) is a land development

strategy that emphasizes water conservation and the

use of natural features and small-scale engineered

hydrologic features to manage stormwater and closely

mimic the natural hydrology of an area. The goal of LID

is to prevent harm to streams, lakes and wetlands from

commercial, residential or industrial development and it

can be used in new developments or incorporated into

re-development projects.

LID design uses a variety of techniques to either: control,

capture and re-use stormwater, or to increase the absorption and filtering of rainwater to prevent run-off. The most commonly

employed techniques include “green” or “living” roofs, living walls, rain gardens and permeable pavement.

Green roofs are far more common in Europe than in North America but Toronto and Chicago are emerging as North

American leaders in green roof technology. Modern green roofs typically consist of a layer of foliage planted in soil or a

specialty growing medium resting on top of a synthetic, waterproof membrane. Green roofs are not common in Alberta

but they are not unknown. Olds College is currently conducting studies on the most appropriate types of plants to grow on

green roofs in our climate and the LEED-certified Calgary Water Centre has a large area of living roof.

Rain gardens are landscape features designed to catch and treat stormwater runoff from hard, impermeable surfaces

such as roofs, roads and parking lots. They usually consist of depressed garden spaces where runoff can pond and infiltrate

through a mulch layer into “constructed soils” that have been designed to improve pollutant removal. Water then drains

into the native soils below.

Standard asphalt and concrete surfaces are considered “impermeable,”

precipitation that falls on them or drains to them runs off to the lowest point

because it cannot infiltrate to soils below. Permeable pavement however

is a type of hard surfacing that allows rainfall to percolate through to an

underlying reservoir base and then either infiltrate to underlying soils or

be removed by a subsurface drain. Research has shown that permeable

pavement can significantly reduce runoff volumes reducing the erosive

power of stormwater entering creeks, preventing down-cutting and bank

instability. Permeable pavers have also proven to be effective at removing

pollutants, moderating fluctuations in rivers and creeks, and improving

groundwater recharge.

The Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership (ALIDP) is a not-for-

profit society that “offers training, expertise and networking to professionals

seeking to implement green infrastructure in land development.” The ALIDP

partners with communities, academics and stewardship groups to help

increase awareness and actions that contribute to healthier watersheds in

Alberta. The group recently held a well-attended stormwater management

workshop in Coaldale.