19TDROUR806 - Upper Athabasca Region Surface Water Quantity Framework Scoping Study

Water is a multi-purpose resource, with multiple users operating at different scales, with competing uses and differing views of stakeholders. The Government of Alberta has released the Water for Life action plan, the roadmap that the government and its partners will follow over the next 10 years in order to manage the province’s water resources for the benefit of all Albertans.

To achieve the main goals of the Water for Life strategy, the Alberta government is committed to managing cumulative effects at a regional level in a new approach to integrated management in order to achieve Alberta’s long-term economic, environmental, and social goals. Surface water quantity management is a key component of the cumulative effects management system being advanced under regional planning and the Land-use Framework. Cumulative effective management includes monitoring, evaluation, and reporting from resource users, and setting early warning triggers for the government to determine how to address various issues and identify the need for action.

To develop a Surface Water Quantity Management Framework (SWQMF), a set of flows or lake level triggers and limits from the mainstem Athabasca River, major rivers and lakes in the region need to be established to ensure the surface water quantity in the region meets the agreed upon baseline values. The objective of the SWQMF is to manage cumulative water withdrawals to support both human and ecosystem needs, while balancing social, environmental, economic, indigenous and cultural interests, which are the main goals of Alberta’s Land-use Framework. It is anticipated that combined region-wide thresholds (flow and water levels) will need to be developed for the SWQMF. This study will aid in the province’s commitment to managing cumulative effects in the Upper Athabasca Region by providing a scope of work required to develop a Surface Water Quantity Management Framework.

The main objective of this project is to obtain an initial scoping study that will provide region-wide foundational information and support defensible guidance and direction to the Government of Alberta for the development of a Surface Water Quantity Management Framework (SWQMF) for the Upper Athabasca Region (UAR).