How can you help...if you have a comment on any of our Guest Columnist articles, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments (at the bottom of this webpage).

Introduction: Guest Columnists

Opinion by Kim Sturgess

Former Premier Peter Lougheed said that “In the future, water will be more important to Albertans than oil and gas”.

Indeed, water adequacy has emerged as one of Alberta's primary resource issues. Industrial and agricultural development, population growth, and climate change are collectively increasing the demand and pressure on Alberta’s limited water resources. The water supply in southern Alberta is now fully allocated, and other regional watersheds are investigating restrictions on issuing new water licenses. The changing environment of water policy and regulation in Alberta has contributed to the recognition of water as Alberta’s next big economic and social challenge.

To address these challenges, Alberta WaterSMART, the Bow River Basin Council, Tesera Systems and IBM Canada, with support from the Suncor Energy Foundation, launched the Alberta WaterPortal. The WaterPortal is a site where anyone can search for and contribute to the information or knowledge they need to make better decisions or become more actively involved in managing our water resources.

Our vision is to create a new community for the sharing of water knowledge. This new community is being developed by engaging public and private environmental, industry and watershed organizations, researchers and other stakeholders in a dialogue about water using the newest internet tools. Water is personal, and each person needs to participate in the dialogue.

That is why today we are launching our latest feature, our Guest Columnist. Each month we will feature an article prepared by a prominent member of our community presenting their views on specific water issues relevant to water management in our Province. All our members will have an opportunity to reflect on their comments and feed back your own thoughts and suggestions for the benefit of our growing community. We plan on dealing with topics that are timely and a bit controversial. Our goal is to identify the issues and bring out the discussion for the benefit of everyone. This is your chance to participate and contribute to this critical dialogue.

To launch our Guest Columnist feature, we are very fortunate to welcome Tom Huffaker, the U.S Counsel General for Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. As a native Californian, Tom has a deep knowledge of and respect for water. I know that you will find his views on transboundary water issues stimulating. We look forward to an informed and spirited discussion over the next couple of weeks.

Again, thank you for participating in our growing WaterPortal community. Water is our most valuable resource, and together we can manage it well for future generations. Enjoy and participate!

Kim Sturgess is CEO and founder of Alberta WaterSMART, a not-for-profit organization committed to developing and improving the management of Alberta’s water resources.