Alberta's water level forecast offers hopeful outlook for summer months
CBC
Early water level forecasts in Alberta are offering some good news to farmers, ranchers and firefighters this year.
The province expects improved water supplies this summer due to stronger spring run-off, a result of above-normal snowpack levels at surveyed mountain sites.
“After three consecutive years of low early-season water supply forecasts, current conditions are the most favourable observed since early 2022,” the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas wrote in a news release.
These improving conditions come after several years of drier, warmer winters. This has resulted in water shortages and reductions in irrigation, while crop yields and cattle herds have shrunk.
Trevor Hadwen, an agroclimate specialist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, said this year's early-season water forecast is good news for the province, but we don’t yet have the full picture.
“We're getting lots of good moisture in the mountains, which will result in ... good stream flow and good recovery for the water systems,” Hadwen told CBC News on Friday.
“But soil moisture is the concern for agriculture right now, where we need some really good late season snowfall and early spring rains to start off the agricultural year with good soil moisture.”
Alberta appears to be heading in the right direction so far, with Alberta Wildfire anticipating above normal precipitation over the next few months.
“The amount of snow that we have in December and January do help, but it's the April, May, June spring and rains — those are what help us the most when it comes to fire activity,” said Cory Davis, Alberta Wildfire’s director of wildfire predictive services, on Wednesday.
Environment Canada is also predicting temperatures well-above normal in the coming months.
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Early water level forecasts in Alberta are offering some good news to farmers, ranchers and firefighters this year.
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