Flood waters from the Red Deer River could be used to “drought-proof” moisture deprived areas of East Central Alberta, says Alberta’s minister of agriculture.
In a joint news release with Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau, Drumheller-Stettler MLA Jack Hayden, minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has announced that the province has started a two-phase study to assess the impact the Special Areas Water Supply Project would have on the river and its environment.
“The project itself was approved in principle by cabinet a number of years ago,” Hayden said on Monday.
“The only time of year water would be taken out of the river would be in the spring, when we have our major runoff.”
Excess water from spring runoff would be stored in deep, natural ravines that now exist in drier areas of Stettler and Paintearth Counties, said Hayden. It would then be available for watering livestock and supplying household needs when local sources dry up, he said. It could also be available for processing plants, although there are none in the area right now.
A “tiny” level of irrigation may also be included as needed to keep the system flowing, said Hayden.
“The whole idea behind this is to drought-proof the area. We’ve got an amazing resource there in grass for pasture for livestock, but there are a number of years where, unfortunately, there isn’t enough water for watering them.”
The diversion would not adversely affect a flow agreement in which Alberta guarantees a minimum rate of flow from the Red Deer River into the South Saskatchewan river system, said Hayden.
“On an average year, we divert about 85 per cent of the water (from the Red Deer) to Saskatchewan — 85 per cent of our flow. I think there’s been only one recorded time — and our agreement is 50 per cent — when they were nervous about the 50 per cent,” he said.
Water for the project would not be diverted in years when the runoff is not sufficient, said Hayden. The natural storage system now in place can hold enough water to supply dugouts and livestock waterers for two years if water cannot be taken from the river, he said.
The only new construction would be pipelines to take the water to those storage areas.
The final design would be determined during the environmental impact assessment, he said.
At a price tag of $1 million and taking place over the next three years, the first phase of the assessment will be used to gather information and submit a report to Alberta Environment.
The second phase would not kick in until Alberta Environment has determined that the report it complete. During the second phase, to take about two more years, the project would be reviewed by the Natural Resources Conservation Board and may also be submitted to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to determine whether the project serves the public interest.
Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling could not be reached to address the project on behalf of the Red Deer River Watershed Management Group.
Tom Daniels, chairman of the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance, said his group cannot speak to the project. The Watershed Alliance, created under the Water for Life Strategy, is in the process of creating a draft management plan for the Red Deer River watershed, which Daniels said will take about two more years to complete. The draft will then be submitted to the province as a recommendation for managing the watershed.
Environment Minister Rob Renner could not be reached for comment.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com