Analysis of Agricultural Water Supply Issues: National Summary

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Recent drought, depleting and/or fully allocated water supplies, contaminated water supplies, and water supplies of poor quality have heightened the awareness of the importance of reliable water supplies for domestic, industrial and agricultural use. The need for improved water management strategies continues to be expressed across the country, particularly as increased conflicts over water supply needs occur among agriculture, industry and municipalities.

In the agriculture sector, water shortages directly limit yields and result in economic hardships that spread well beyond the farm gate. Water constraints vary across the country and within commodity groups, and can range from a physical constraint to a regulatory constraint. Regardless of the issue, there is a need to develop a long-term strategy to remove water supply constraints to agriculture throughout the country. Without such a strategy, agricultural growth cannot continue.

This report summarizes the results of regional consultations that focused on identifying the agricultural water supply issues and constraints in each province. The report provides recommendations for agricultural water supply programming options and priorities at national and provincial scales.

1.1 Background

The National Water Supply Expansion Program (NWSEP) is a four year $60 million Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) investment in secure water supplies for agriculture. The intent of the program is to improve the capacity of agricultural producers to deal with drought and other agriculturally related water supply constraints through the development and expansion of water supply systems on a cost-shared basis.

The $60 million program budget will be distributed as follows: $10 million in 2002/03; $20 million in 2003/04; $20 million in 2004/05; and $10 million in 2005/06. In 2002/03 the dollars were allocated primarily towards relieving the water supply situation on the drought-affected Prairies. However, some of the allocation was also directed towards assisting the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to address regional droughts, and towards conducting a scoping study on agricultural water supply issues across Canada. The results of the scoping study will be used to determine program options and priorities for the remaining 3-year $50 million allocation.

1.2 Objective of Study

The intent of the scoping study is to identify:

• The scope of agricultural water supply needs;
• The nature and extent of water supply constraints on agriculture; and,
• The priorities for agricultural water supply expansion across Canada.

The results of this study will be incorporated into negotiations/consultations between the federal government, provincial governments, and agricultural stakeholder groups for developing immediate and future programming options.

1.3 Methodology

Consultative studies were undertaken in five regions: British Columbia, the Prairie Provinces, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces. Each study incorporated:

• A review of existing or readily available documentation on agricultural and rural water supply needs and problems specific to the region of study;
• Individual or small group consultations with pertinent municipal, provincial and federal agencies, and key stakeholder groups; and
• An advisory group workshop to: review findings, confirm issues, and identify and prioritize possible activities for funding.

The information derived from each activity was synthesized into a report that discussed:

• The water supply issues and constraints in the agricultural areas of the study region;
• The existing programming available for water supply infrastructure and information development;
• The gaps in information with respect to water supply needs;
• Possible solutions to the identified water supply constraints;
• Prioritized regions for funding (where appropriate); and
• Programming options.

The five studies were contracted out as follows:

• British Columbia - Golder Associates
• Prairie Provinces - UMA Engineering Ltd.
• Ontario - Marshall Macklin Monaghan Ltd.
• Quebec - BPR Groupe Conseil
• Atlantic Provinces - CBCL Ltd.

Specific details on the literature reviewed, lists of people consulted and workshop formats are discussed in each report, which are listed as references in Section 4.

In this report, Section 2 summarizes the key findings of each report and is presented by province. Section 3 provides an overall summary from a national perspective, and provides recommendations for the development of the National Water Supply Expansion Program.