By Lee Hart

Grainews staff

Prairie farmers and ranchers need a renewed emphasis on conservation to protect Western Canada’s limited fresh water resource, which is quickly disappearing, says a leading environmental researcher.

Along with a rapidly growing demand for water, the fact is that there is simply less water available now than there was even 50 years ago, says David Schindler, a professor of ecology in the  Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

The rapidly expanding oil and gas industry, along with urban growth, particularly in Alberta, are major consumers of water. But crop and livestock production, too, also have a major impact not only as water users, but also on water quality across Western Canada.

“With the beef and hog industries in Alberta we produce the effluent equivalent to 87 million people,” says Schindler.  “In fact there are only three million people in the province, so the livestock industry is producing the effluent of 84 million people. And the phosphorus produced in the manure is the major concern. Without proper management a lot of that is ending up in our lakes and rivers.”

Schindler, one of the keynote speakers at the annual FarmTech 2008 conference, says people just assume there is an endless water supply. But, he says the fact is, according to historical data the last century actually had above normal preciptation. Regardless of drought years, such as the Dirty 30s the 20th century was quite wet “and it is doubtful we will have two centuries with above-average moisture back to back,” he says.

And with a warming climate many of the major glaciers that fed water systems within the South Saskatchewan River Basin, for example, are disappearing. And we are experiencing higher rates of evaporation.

“With a warming climate we may see more rainfall, but we will also have more evaporation, the net effect with higher rates of evaporation we will actually become drier.”

With receeding glaciers and  less moisture to recharge lakes and rivers and with rapidly increasing demand, Canada will face a water shortage crisis over the next 50 to 100 years, says Schindler.

Overall, to live within the water resources that are available he says, there is a need to scale back plans for  industrial and urban growth.

Specifically for the agriculture industry, along with continuing to promote conservation farming practices, policies and practices need to be in place to:

- protect and restore natural wetlands
- protect and restore riparian areas that border rivers and creeks
- protect natural drainage patterns
- reduce and control the use of fertilizers, manure and pesticides
- plan industrial development that minimize water use
- put people and industries where there are adequate water supplies. For example, rather that concentrate growth in Southern Alberta which has limited water resources, encourage more growth in northern Alberta or British Columbia.

“The evidence is there, and we can look at other places in the world to learn from their experience,” says Schindler. “We just need politicians to develop a better understanding of the situation.”