New reservoir proposed for Belly River as Alberta faces severe water shortage

Severe water shortages in southern Alberta have farmers and ranchers looking to creative solutions. A new proposal could help more than the south: a reservoir on the Belly River.

Severe water shortages in southern Alberta have farmers and ranchers looking to creative solutions. A new proposal could help more than the south: a reservoir on the Belly River.

The project, while only in its infancy, has begun to draw a lot of support. Fred Rice has started presenting the proposal to people in the area, particularly those who would draw from it, and he says they approve.

“I would greatly benefit from a reservoir there,” said rancher and farmer Darcy Barfuss, “drastically so.”

The reservoir, as proposed by Rice, is checking off three major boxes of concern to producers in the area: irrigation, flood mitigation and helping all water sheds.

“There’s benefits for everybody. It’s not just a local thing,” Rice said. “Everyone in the districts could benefit from it.”

If built, the dam could add as much water as 22,000 Olympic-size swimming pools to other reservoirs.

With a price tag of just over $300 million, the projected profits from the dam are almost $400 million per year.

“Basically, what we’d like to see is a feasibility study on this,” Rice said. “After that, the implementation of actually building it, it’s going to take years. But it’s not just about me; it’s for my kids and my grandkids too.”