Collaborating Beyond the Tap
I wrote this post for the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance (make sure you check out their website) and I wanted to share it here as an example of how collaboration shows up in the world of water resources in Alberta.
On March 22 this year as part of World Water Day, I had the opportunity to moderate a multi-perspective panel discussion for the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance’s premier of their documentary film called Source Waters: The Rivers That Shape Us.
The conversation touched on the progress we’ve made and some ideas on tackling the challenges facing us regarding water in the years ahead. The event was entirely virtual, with more than 170 registrants taking part in the premiere and the panel discussion.
The film is testament to the Red Deer River watershed and the people that call the watershed home. Following the flow of the river, the film’s story moves downstream from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains through to the prairies, highlighting stories from scientists, urban and rural communities, and rural landowners with generations farming the land.
The clear message of the film is that water connects us all and is an essential part of everything we do, whether it’s agriculture, industrial activity, recreation, or our daily rural and urban life. The river’s natural functions, its biodiversity, and the interaction between surface and groundwater provide us with the foundation for our way of life and highlight the strong need to conserve our water resources.
Following the premiere, the panel conversation convened with panelists Dr. John Pomeroy, Mayor Terry Leslie (Town of Sundre), Margo Jarvis Redelback, and Eric Gonzales. Overall, the panel members explored a broad range of topics including land use, flood preparedness, policy development, education and awareness, the effects of changing climate, and the role of new technology to drive more efficient use of water. Here are a few highlights:
We’ve come a long way
The ways in which we understand river systems and water has grown and evolved significantly in recent years. There have been advances in the development of our understanding of watershed processes, how climate is affecting those processes, and how we will need to steward and manage our water resources into the future.
Our new understanding is expanding the vocabulary we use today that was not part of the lexicon a decade ago. Mayor Leslie pointed to terms like flood mapping and mitigation, and multi-barrier approaches that are an everyday part of municipal planning today, but that are absent from the same planning in the past.
Our scientific understanding of watershed processes and effects of changing climate has evolved significantly as well. Dr. Pomeroy described how our understanding of industrial activities such as forest operations has grown more precise, which in turn has allowed the industry to more effectively mitigate their effects on runoff and the associated potential downstream water quality and quantity issues. Our abilities to forecast the potential effects of changing climate on future water supplies is such that we can focus more of our attention on how to best manage change in the timing and magnitude of flows.
The ability to make better use of water through technological advancement and improved efficiency was highlighted by Margo Jarvis Redelback of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association. The irrigation industry has made huge changes in their management of water over the past 100 years with shifts in water conveyance from open canals to buried water pipelines, new on-farm technology that delivers precision irrigation, and new crop varieties that require less water.
Tackling the uncertainty
The panel members also spent some time discussing what was needed to address the challenges facing water management in the Red Deer River basin and beyond.
The film’s producer, Eric Gonzales, pointed to the need to see “beyond the taps” and for more people and politicians to understand linkages of water to our everyday lives. And while the Source Water’s film takes us in that direction, more effort will be required to ensure water remains front of mind. Mayor Leslie suggested that the responsibility to understand water and water issues should be “ingrained into the DNA of municipal leaders”, so that the importance of water could be effectively reflected in all municipal decisions.
Both Dr. Pomeroy and Margo Jarvis Redelback stated that our understanding of the effects of changing climate needs to continue to grow, because this more detailed knowledge will allow much better resiliency, farm-level precision management, and new opportunities for small- and large-scale storage to be realized.
All of the panelist alluded to the need for our approach to water to be nimble enough to address changing conditions. Large projects developed in the past have taken a long time to build, so there is an opportunity to consider projects and a variety of scales to ensure pressing immediate needs can be met.
Collaboration is our strength
The panel concluded with discussion of Albertans are known for their ability to sit down together to address the issues we face. Our collaborative ability has helped us manage through significant water issues in the past and will be a key ingredient to our success going forward. Eric Gonzales described the many engaged and aware citizens he met through development of the film and how that level of enthusiasm would support whatever we do to effectively manage water into the future.
Margo suggested that the various Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs), such as the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance, are great places to get involved because they bring multiple perspectives together in a collaborative manner. Mayor Leslie emphasized that this kind of involvement can translate into how municipal and provincial leaders put priority on water concerns and issues.
The premiere of the Source Waters film and the following panel discussion was a great success with good attendance and positive feedback. Thanks to everyone who attended.
Happy collaborating.
Scott Millar, through Collaboration Dynamics, often works as a "peacemaker" by gathering people with different experiences and values and helping them navigate beyond their differences to tackle complex problems together. As the host of the Cool Collaborations podcast where he explores fun stories and insights of successful collaboration with guests from around the world, and then dives into what made them work. Cool Collaborations is currently available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
