Water and Okotoks

A November 30, 2009, Calgary Herald article captioned “Calgary utility would sell water to neighbours” appeared to be almost accepting of a City of Calgary proposal for a ‘not-for-profit’ water utility. This will not go over well with those who continue to protest the prospect of City of Calgary control over potentially divergent growth philosophies in municipalities that populate the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP).

Okotoks, a community known for its global growth planning leadership, is specifically referenced in the article – as in “Okotoks would have access to Calgary’s water supply on a cost-recovery basis … but only if onside with long-term development plans”. The November 30 article shows a disregard for the majority of Okotoks’ residents who for years have opted for a finite growth strategy premised upon the carrying capacity of their Sheep River aquifer.

The gnawing concern for many is that The City of Calgary may well intend superimposing its will with respect to neighbouring communities’ growth plans as a consequence of enabling Provincial land-use legislation and with the City handed an excess water licensed capacity hammer. Elected politicians with an ear to their development lobbies will promote urban water efficiencies associated with urban development. Water drawn for household consumption will be seen to be returned to water courses as treated effluent. Paved roads will be seen to channel precipitation otherwise absorbed by a porous landscape directly to associated river aquifers. A more thoughtful examination will show that with expanding populations, associated industrial, commercial, agricultural and recreational sector requirements will lead to disproportionate increases in the aggregate demand for water.

Some will see there to be less than conclusive evidence signalling a projected extraordinarily dry century for Southern Albertan. The facts, of course, are not encouraging. Alberta Environment in September, 2009 reported that “the Bow River at Banff and Calgary and the North Saskatchewan River at Edmonton ranked second, tenth and fourth lowest respectively, among 91 years of record” (Water Supply Outlook, November 2009). March – September’s record volumes were much below average for the Bow River at Banff and Calgary.

We are left with an overriding and deeper concern that growth pressures will lead to simplistic and potentially disastrous ecological stop gaps that may well ultimately encompass the pipelining of water from The City of Calgary to outlying parched Southern Alberta municipalities and the damming of critically important tributaries to the Bow.

On a positive note, Southern Albertans appear to be awakening to the emerging reality of a Southern Alberta projected water supply challenge. The Government of Alberta as it should will be increasingly questioned as to an apparent reluctance to engage its best scientists in studies of the alignment of future water supplies proportionate to population forecasts held by regional advisory boards, most notably, the Calgary Regional Partnership.

In closing, let us not too quickly rely upon The City of Calgary proposal for a ‘not-for-profit’ utility as a panacea for Southern Alberta’s parched municipalities.

Laurie Hodson is a Graduate, University of British Columbia (Economics), with a Post Graduate in Finance, Canadian General Electric, Eastern Canada. Laurie worked for the City of Calgary as a Human Resources Specialist for 17 years, retiring in 2002, and currently resides in Okotoks. Previously, Laurie was an Elected Official (Councillor) Town of Okotoks (serving five successive terms: 1992 through 2007). He was one of the early architects of the Okotoks “Legacy” Sustainable Finite Growth Strategy. Currently he is an active member of Albertans For Responsible Land Use.