Canada: Alberta farmers plan for dry conditions

The quick melt of the mountain snowpack during the spring of 2023 in Alberta combined with hot and dry temperatures throughout the growing season and dry early winter have left irrigators with little more than hope for improved conditions by spring 2024.

Irrigation districts, the Alberta government and farmers along with other water stakeholders including the oil and gas sector will begin the new year planning for a continuation of the dry conditions while anticipating – and hoping – spring will bring with its traditional deluge of moisture.

In an open letter to irrigators issued Dec. 21, George Lohues, chair of the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), outlined the current situation.

“The success of our irrigation season hinges on above-average winter snowpack in the Rocky Mountains and timely rains in the spring and summer of 2024 to replenish our current low water supply levels,” read the letter.

“To ensure that all irrigators within the SMRID are adequately prepared, we strongly advise each member to commence planning their crops considering the possibility of not receiving a full allocation of water per acre for the 2024 irrigation season.”

Some precipitation in late-September and snowfall in October brought with it hopes the dry spell across much of the southern portion of the province might be breaking.

But Boxing Day saw daily temperature record highs in much of the province from Milk River to Edmonton, including the heart of Alberta’s irrigation region in Bow Island which saw a 30-year high of more than 12 C.

The effect of the snow which has fallen and the above-normal temperatures has created a double-edged sword for irrigation reservoirs which have caught the runoff but which has seen the mountain snowpack reserves depleted.

“Despite early season snowfall contributing to average snow water equivalent levels across all three snow pillows at the end of November, unseasonably warm temperatures in December have caused a reduction in the snowpack,” stated Lohues in his letter. “The runoff from this decline is being captured in the St. Mary and Waterton reservoirs.”

Waterton Lake is currently at levels not seen since July, currently sitting at nearly half of capacity while the St. Mary Reservoir, left effectively empty at the end of September, is now at eight percent of capacity, according to data from Alberta Environment.

The Oldman Dam reservoir has also seen some stabilization during the month of December, gaining some volume which have seen capacity increase by three percentage points from a low of 25 percent.

Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District (LNID) has also announced repair and maintenance work has begun on the outflows from the Oldman.

The headworks had been a point of contention in both the spring of 2022 and 2023 after a dispute between the Alberta government and Piikani Nation along with leaks being discovered in those two years respectively.

Repairs have now begun with a spring 2024 completion date anticipated. But, according to a Dec. 11 update, LNID is warning of the possibility of continued drought conditions.

“All district landowners should plan their crops accordingly for the possibility of not receiving a full allocation of water per irrigation acre in 2024. At this point in time, it is too early to tell what the allocation in inches of water per irrigation acre will be,” read the update.

SMRID will be providing monthly updates regarding the situation leading up to and including to their AGM in April.

While Lohues noted in his letter the extreme conditions currently taking place in Alberta, he also recalled how 2023 is playing out in a similar fashion to 2001. The spring of 2002 saw the deficiencies in the irrigation system wiped clean by rains.

“As we enter the Christmas season let’s hope for something similar in 2024. It is far too early to predict what the water allocation will be as the meaningful snow falls in February, March and April,” stated Lohues. “As farmers we cannot control the weather, yet we are confident that our farmers are innovative and adaptable and will find a way to grow a successful crop in 2024.”

Tags: irrigators, Alberta, dry temperatures