Due to drought conditions in recent years, the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) south of Lethbridge has signed a new water-sharing memorandum of understanding between users in four sub-basins in southern Alberta.
Barring significant changes in reservoir levels, the 2024 water allocation will be 8 inches of water per acre at the farm gate. Last year, the water allocation for the same district was 14 inches per acre.
SMRID is the largest irrigation district in North America, spanning more than 500,000 acres.
The current drought cycle in southern Alberta is the most severe the region has seen since the 2001 drought. Although such drought cycles have not been uncommon over the past 900 years, the current drought has reduced reservoir storage in all regions. SMRID general manager David Westwood said southern Alberta, a region that relies in part on mountain snowpack, received less snow last season than usual.
Although the area is in better water storage condition than during the 2001 drought, the area’s growing population has increased water demand.
Irrigation is critical to the revitalization of agriculture in this region. Westwood said these restrictions would allow producers who are sowing high-value, water-demanding crops such as potatoes to potentially sow less single crops and more grains and grains. It is said that there is a sex. You can then shift allocations away from low-water-using crops to give high-water-using crops more water.
In this interview, Real Agriculture’s Sean Haney joins Westwood to discuss southern Alberta’s water situation, future plans for irrigation districts, and how restrictions will impact producers.
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