Age of Public and Water Infrastructure: Alberta
Source: Statistics Canada

• The value of Alberta’s total public infrastructure increased at an average annual rate of 2.1% between 2001 and 2007, the fastest among the provinces. This brought the total value to $35.2 billion or 12% of the national total in 2007. In 2007, Alberta had the third youngest public infrastructure in the country after Ontario and Prince Edward Island. It was however the only province where the average age of each of the five assets was consistently under the national average. Alberta’s public infrastructure showed definite ageing in the 1990s, rising from an average all-time low age of 14.5 years in 1989 to 16.7 years in 1999. Since then, it has dropped sharply to 15.6 years in 2007. This drop was driven by large investments since the beginning of the 2000s.
  
  
• In 2007, water supply systems in Alberta had reached 38% of their estimated life, compared with 40% nationally. The average age of the water supply systems in Alberta has fluctuated over the past 25 years. Changes have reflected investment swings, especially large investments since the last ten years. This lowered the average age from 17.8 years in 1996 to 14.0 in 2007. Water supply systems were the third most important public asset in Alberta in 2007, accounting for 10% of the total stock.

  As a percentage of estimated useful life, Alberta has tended to track closely to the national average, varying only by a few percentage points either above or under.

 

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Alberta’s major rivers include the following:








 



Also, click here, for a list of Alberta Lakes (source: Wikipedia)


 

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The map below is intended to show areas where water supply maybe a concern. Note that on August 31, 2006, Alberta Environment announced the province will no longer accept new water licence applications for the Bow, Oldman, and South Saskatchewan sub-basins. Water allocations may still be obtained through water allocation transfers. The newly minted water management plan, the first of its kind in Alberta, will ban new demands from the three rivers, which are part of the South Saskatchewan River basin that feeds water to Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Brooks and Medicine Hat.







 

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In Alberta, approximately two million people get their drinking water from large municipal systems. Approximately 400,000 Albertans get their water from smaller water treatment plants. The remaining 600,000 Albertans obtain their water from private systems such as wells, water co-ops or by hauling

In southern Alberta, more than 505,000 hectares of land (just 4% of the total land that can be cultivated in Alberta) are serviced by 13 irrigation districts. These irrigation networks are used by agriculture and they also supply nearly 50 communities with water for domestic use.

Today, irrigated agricultural production accounts for about 18 to 20 per cent of Alberta's total agricultural production.

Alberta has an agreement with Saskatchewan that guarantees that 50% of the water in each of the shared, major river basins, must be allowed to flow into Saskatchewan. This agreement is called an apportionment agreement.

Alberta shares borders with British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Montana. Currently, apportionment agreements only exist with Saskatchewan and Montana.

In Alberta, water has been traditionally allocated on the “first-in-time, first-in-right” principle for both surface and ground water. The older the licence, the higher that user is on the priority list. This allows the owners of the first licenses issued to access the full amount of water issued before newer licensees have access, regardless of use. Furthermore, water licenses granted under this principle have no expiry date. However, licenses issued under the Water Act are now issued for a fixed period.

The theory of the principle is that it protects an existing user’s rights from those who come after them and is the best way to allow for orderly development. Therefore, during a drought, a farmer with a senior licence may have access to water for irrigation, while at the same time, a city with a more recently issued licence may be forced to ask residents to ration water.