The use of water in the southern part of Alberta is restricted. Last October, the provincial government announced Alberta's irrigation system would receive an $815-million upgrade, which would be used to bury canals, add 208,000 acres of irrigable land and expand storage. In October 2020, Alberta announced a partnership between irrigation districts, the province and the Canada Infrastructure Bank that would see $815 million flow into new irrigation projects - including the relocation of existing canals underground - in the coming years. In dry southern Alberta, the agricultural sector relies on irrigation - the process of watering crops artificially instead of relying on rainfall. No part of the globe or this country is immune from the effects of climate change.īut Canada's Prairie provinces could be particularly hard hit, experts say, due to the fact they are among the highest industrial and commercial users of water in the country, partly because of the agricultural sector. Concerns over water shortages in southern Alberta "We're already in the climate catastrophe era," said James Byrne, a geography professor at the University of Lethbridge who has studied climate change for more than 30 years. Have questions about COP26 or climate science, policy or politics? Email us: Your input helps inform our coverage.What's happening in this section of the Oldman River comes as no surprise, experts say, and the effects of climate change could lead to water shortages across Alberta in years to come. Because the fish are too stressed, and they're in oxygen debt." "The river finds its way lower and lower and lower," Costa said. "In fact, to the point that as low as it is now, I won't even fish it. (Joel Dryden/CBC)īut this year, Costa said, he's been seeing some of the lowest flow rates on the river he can ever recall. But watching how it has dramatically changed in recent years, he's concerned about its future, he says. Costa says the Oldman River is his favourite place to fish.
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