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Bow River

October 2007

The Eastern Irrigation District (EID) applied to Alberta Environment to amend their current water licence to allow them to extract water from the Bow River for commercial purposes. The EID is already the holder of the largest water licence in the region, amounting to 30 per cent of the average annual flow of the Bow River.

This is a very important decision for the future water management across southern Alberta. If approved, this amendment, as written, would give the EID the power to re-allocate and sell water for other uses, including municipal, non-irrigational and non-agricultural activities.

If this amendment goes through, it would set a dangerous precedent – triggering a string of similar applications from other agri-business consortiums – effectively putting most of Alberta’s water up for sale.

1. The EID wants to amend how they use the water drawn from the Bow. The current licence is for “irrigation and agriculture (stock watering) purposes.” The proposed new uses will be for “municipal, agricultural, commercial, industrial, management of fish, management of wildlife, habitat enhancement, and recreation.” This amendment would open the door to the commercialization of the water in the Bow River, allowing the EID to profit from its sale.

2. The EID would become a “water broker.” If this amendment is approved, the Irrigation District, already the holder of the largest licence on the Bow River, will be in a position to then provide water to other users, side stepping current government regulations.

3. Water planning is the job of elected governments. Giving an irrigation district the power to control and broker water for other uses sets a dangerous precedent for all water licensing in Alberta.  

4. Alberta’s water is already under pressure. The Bow River was “closed” to new requests for water licences in 2006, as the river was deemed to be over-allocated. Climate change is already putting pressure on Alberta’s water supply.

5. The public has effectively been left out. Only those deemed “directly affected” by the Alberta government are able to raise issues about the EID application and have them heard before Alberta Environment. The definition of “directly affected” is narrowly restricted to people who live within a tiny radius of the Bow River, even though watershed planning is a concern for everyone. The public must be consulted on how water is allocated and used in Alberta.

Click here to read the letter of concern submitted to Alberta Environment by Susan Howatt, National Water Campaigner, Council of Canadians.

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updated October 16, 2007