Prepared Winter 2016
Populations continue to grow world-wide and with this the demand for food grows. Recent estimates suggest global food production will need to increase by 70 to 100 percent to meet increased demand [1]. Canada is expected to play a key role in meeting future demand for food and is one of only five countries experts believe is capable of increasing food production to meet global food demand.
What could an increase in food demand mean for agricultural activity and associated water use in the Bow River basin?
Of Alberta’s 13 irrigation districts, three receive all of their water from the Bow River and have land in the Bow River Basin. These irrigation districts are the Bow River Irrigation District (BRID), Eastern Irrigation District (EID), and Western Irrigation District (WID). Each of these has roughly half of their irrigation district in the basin. Consequently, the three irrigation districts cover about 324,000 acres of irrigated land in the Bow River basin.
As 30 percent of crops throughout Alberta are cereal crops (including wheat, barley, and oats) this type of agriculture was selected to illustrate water use for food production. Although livestock is raised in the basin, this type of farming does not use as much water as crop production in the basin.
Recent data published in the Canadian Water Resources Journal [2] indicates cereal crops require (on average) a net irrigation of 244 mm of water. Therefore, if we conceptualize that cereal crops are the primary crop grown on the Bow River Basin’s irrigated land, water demand would be about 320 million m3 or 260,000 acre-feet. This use of water and irrigated land could produce approximately 600,000 tonnes of cereal crops, which could provide enough food to meet the daily caloric intake requirements of around 1.3 million people!
While this example assumes cereal crop production will be front and center, in reality there are a range of crops and specialty crops grown in the Bow River Basin requiring different amounts of water. Also, cereal crops are often grown for crop rotation purposes, meaning higher valued crops could dominate land and water use in the irrigation districts.
Recent data published in the Alberta Irrigation Information Booklet [3] indicates roughly 214,000 acres of the BRID, EID, and WID were used to produce cereal crops in 2014, half of which (107,000 acres) occurred in the Bow River Basin. With this in mind, if current practices regarding cereal crop production on irrigated land continued, the net irrigation water required to grow cereal crops could be as low as 106 million m3 or 86,000 acre-feet by 2030.
It is envisioned irrigation districts in the Bow River Basin will operate within their licensed water allocation and meet increasing demands for food production, while limiting increases in water use through the application of new, more efficient irrigation technologies, among other advances.
Click here (1.05 MB) to read Behind the Scenes: Alberta Water Nexus Project Pilot’s Assumptions and Constraints.
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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.
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.