Up in the province of Alberta, water users are pleased to see changes to the Water Act that should make it easier to transfer water between uses. The Water Act had not been updated since 1999 and water users up in Canada are seeing the same supply-demand pressures that are well-known to Western U.S.
In Alberta, large agricultural water use and a growing M&I sector are being balanced against a variable water supply. The fact that water users in Alberta advocated for these changes and wanted better regulatory tools to be able to transfer water speaks to the root importance of being able to reallocate water to respond to these supply-demand pressures.
The article also mentions a subject that is often the elephant in the room when talking about water trading: inter-basin transfers. The Alberta government promised to tread lightly, only allowing these types of transfers in low-risk situations and after careful environmental review. If inter-basin transfers ever come up for debate, they are almost sure to cause a kerfuffle.
Water reallocation is an important management tool, and its importance increases as supply-demand imbalances increase in magnitude or frequency. Law and policy changes that impact water transfers are important to guide water users and react to changing economic conditions. WestWater works with state agencies, local government, and environmental NGOs to explore new ideas in water policy that affect water transfers and markets.
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“The Water Current” is a monthly news digest that provides brief summaries of interesting and timely news stories related to water economics and water markets in the Western United States. Our team tracks new developments in water policy, management, and conflicts, sharing articles relevant to their work and services.