A pipeline to send water to southern Alberta? Ideas float to the surface in times of drought

Last year, as the Oldman Reservoir dropped to a level not seen since 2001, the Municipal District of Pincher Creek was forced to take action.

Water levels dropped so low that the M.D.'s intakes within the reservoir — which sit above the historic bed of the Crowsnest River — were exposed. They could no longer draw water.

The M.D. was forced to haul water into the community on trucks, at a cost of roughly $7,500 per day.

Eventually, the municipal district amended a temporary water license to pump water near its existing intakes. And while the M.D. is still hauling potable water daily, the set-up covers about 75 per cent of its water and saves about $3,000 a day.

As Alberta stares down the possibility of a severe drought, Pincher Creek may not be alone this year in adapting to unforeseen challenges tied to water access. 

With such conditions looming, Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said irrigation districts have raised the possibility of "interbasin diversion" often in recent months — referring to the transfer of water from one major river basin to another.

"It's one of the ideas that's been brought forward in terms of one of the ways we can meet those needs, especially in southern Alberta, with water from other basins. This is something we could look at," she said March 13.

More than 80 per cent of Alberta's water supply is found in the northern half of the province, but 80 per cent of the province's demand is in the south.

Water diversion — redirecting water for various purposes, whether they be municipal, industrial or otherwise — takes place often within sub-basins in the province (the South Saskatchewan River Basin, for example, contains four sub-basins).

For instance, the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District and the St. Mary River Irrigation District have very large diversions out of the river into the main canal system, noted Shannon Frank, executive director of the Oldman Watershed Council.

Interbasin diversions, on the other hand, are rare. But such ideas are often raised in times of drought, Frank said. 

"That is something we hear occasionally, people saying, 'Well, why can't we build a pipeline from a bigger river? Like, the North [Saskatchewan] or the Athabasca? These are huge, much larger rivers than we have,'" Frank said. "Realistically, a big part of the reason is cost."

A small number of interbasin diversions have occurred in Alberta, but the province noted in an email to CBC News that such projects have been done on a local basis only and have been limited to emergencies.

No matter how much water is involved, transfers have to be approved by the legislature by passing a special act to authorize the licence, according to Alberta's Water Act.