WESTERN PRODUCER — River flow, low mountain snowpack and reservoirs struggling to fill in southern Alberta haven’t escaped the attention of irrigators in Saskatchewan as the traditional wet spring becomes critical.
Mountain snowpack levels across Alberta’s Eastern Slopes as well as those in Montana that feed into the St. Mary and Milk rivers are well below normal.
Municipalities along the Red Deer, Bow and Oldman rivers, which make up the South Saskatchewan River basin, are preparing residents for possible water shortages.
Stream flows dropped significantly last fall and the Lake Diefenbaker reservoir entered winter at lower levels than normal, though they are still significant.
Paltry snow cover in most of Saskatchewan hasn’t helped the situation, according to Aaron Gray, interim co-chair of the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association.
Conditions for Saskatchewan irrigators started well in 2023 but runoffs petered out by June, said Gray. SIPA isn’t raising alarm over the situation yet, and a webinar in March will be hosted by Irrigation Saskatchewan.
“We’re not telling the producers what to do but we’re suggesting maybe look outside your normal rotation and possibly choose crops that don’t need as much moisture to bring them to finish,” said Gray.
Potato growers in particular may want to adjust for less available irrigation water, he said.
Efforts are underway to ensure co-ordination of all water stakeholders to ensure supply. That includes SaskPower.
“Last year was a bit of a change during the heat. There was a power plant that was down — the Poplar River power station — so power was scarce,” Gray said.
The coal-burning electricity generator was flooded in June due to heavy rainfall and wasn’t fully operational for more than two months, increasing reliance on hydroelectric generation.
Gray noted the station is now functioning and was able to supply electricity during Alberta’s recent shortages. It’s an example of interprovincial collaboration that will be available if there are issues with water, he added.
“As long as we have collaborative conversations with our neighbouring provinces, I’m pretty sure we can get through this together as a team.”
There are fewer irrigation systems in Saskatchewan compared to Alberta, which started its network in the early 20th century and has steadily expanded.
Saskatchewan irrigators have never faced a hydrological drought that reduced water allocation. As the province embarks on irrigation network expansion, Gray said it still has capacity to feed current systems.
“We have vast amounts of storage and lots of chains of storage. It’s diversified quite a bit and we’re not even close to being at capacity for irrigation development. It’s never come across as being an issue.
“They’re saying Lake Diefenbaker is low — yes, it is low — but for crying out loud, we’re still not irrigating as much as what is evaporating out of that lake every year.”
Saskatchewan irrigators must ensure they inform the public about the benefits of developing irrigation networks, Gray said.
“We need to show the public we are conscientious of our water usage and we’re not considered water wasters. We have efficient sprinklers, crop scheduling, we try to water as much as possible at night to prevent evaporation losses.”
Under the apportionment agreement between the prairie provinces, 50 percent of the natural flow of rivers in Alberta must reach Saskatchewan, which has the same obligation to Manitoba.
Gray said he is confident the provinces are living up to their obligations but would like to see better monitoring, especially downstream of Medicine Hat and near the confluence of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan rivers.
“Traditionally, we’ve had more than 50 percent come from Alberta into Saskatchewan … It’s just on the years there are lower flows that people are interested in checking these numbers.
“And if you have good management, you’re confident in the management — people make mistakes, and you learn from them — then water is never wasted. It’s reallocated, it’s moved around but it doesn’t disappear.”
Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency, the regulatory body responsible for management, said water supply reservoirs in the province were at or near normal levels, apart from Lake Diefenbaker, at the start of winter.
The agency’s report issued in November also noted concerns about surface water supply in the southwestern portion of the province if there isn’t a normal winter snowpack or, in some cases, above normal precipitation.
WSA’s initial spring runoff outlook is expected in early February.
