What is Water Used for in Alberta?

Water Demand

Water is a vital player in many areas within this province. This section divides water demand into three main categories: agriculture use, industry use, and domestic use. Agriculture use includes farming and irrigation; industry use includes organizations that depend on water such as oil and gas, and citizen use includes the ways in which Albertans use and depend on water such as gardening or showering.

Water Demand graph
Water Allocations per Sector - Source: Alberta Government, 2011

Agriculture and Irrigation in Alberta

Irrigation development in Alberta totals in excess of 1.6 million acres and represents two-thirds of all irrigation development in Canada. About 1.3 million acres are located in the 13 organized irrigation districts and about 300,000 acres in private irrigation developments. Irrigation contributes almost 20% of the province’s gross agricultural production on about 5% of Alberta’s cultivated land. It is estimated that the direct and indirect impact of irrigation is worth about $5 billion to the Alberta economy.
Learn more about agriculture and irrigation in Alberta.

Industrial Uses

Industrial users are among the top water users in Canada. This includes thermal power generation, manufacturing, oil & gas production and mining.
Learn more about industrial users.

Domestic Uses

Each community, household right down to individual uses varying amounts of water for domestic uses. With consumption rates increasing, we need to ensure that balance between water use and water availability.
 Learn more about domestic uses.

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Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Ross Douglas

Ross Douglas

Board Member

Ross has extensive executive experience in Operations, Governance, Information Technology and Strategy at the board and senior management level including Mancal Corporation, Mancal Energy, Highridge Exploration and Atlantis Resources. He has worked in Oil and Gas, Coal, Commercial Real Estate, Portfolio Management, Recreation, Retail and Water and Wastewater Treatment. His experience is also geographically diverse having overseen operations in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Additionally, he has been on the board of companies with operations in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He has served on numerous Public, Private and Not for Profit Boards across a number of industries.

Ross has been active on several industry Boards and committees including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and The Schulich School of Engineering Industry Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Engineering.

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Brian Mergelas

Brian Mergelas, PhD, ICD.D

Board Member

Brian is a seasoned Cleantech entrepreneur with a proven history of successfully bringing complex water technologies to the market.   With over 25 years of experience, he has led various organizations to achieve significant milestones in the industry. 

Having started as the founding CEO of the Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC) and later taking the helm at the Water Technology Acceleration Project (WaterTAP), Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth within the sector. 

He is an active investor in the cleantech sector and has served on many boards including the Ontario Clean Water Agency. 

Actively engaged in industry associations like AWWA, WEF, IWA, and ASCE, Brian enjoys collaborating with fellow professionals to promote advancements in the field. 

Brian holds an undergraduate degree and a PhD in Physics from Queen’s University, which has provided him with a solid technical foundation.   As a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, he brings valuable insights to corporate governance.