Drought – Current conditions

Current status of agreements as of September 12, 2024:

• Red Deer River basin – not activated
• Bow River basin – not activated
• Oldman South Saskatchewan River basin – activated
• Southern tributaries – activated

Water-sharing agreements for the South Saskatchewan River Basin are designed to promote collaboration in real-time. Every two weeks until the end of the growing season, the water supply forecast in the 4 sub-basins where a water-sharing agreement applies will be reassessed and the agreement signatories will decide how to adjust their water use, and whether to activate the agreements.

• Learn more: Water-sharing agreements

A summary of the most recent bi-weekly meeting of agreement signatories can be found below. For previous meeting summaries, contact [email protected].

• Water-sharing agreement meeting report (August 29, 2024)

This summer, seven irrigation districts increased their irrigation allocations for the season. Details on the areas affected and the new allocations in these districts are shown on the map below. 

• South Saskatchewan River Basin water-sharing agreement regions and irrigation districts map

The next decision point for water-sharing agreement signatories will be September 26. On this day, agreement signatories will decide which agreements need to be activated and how much water will be available for use by the signatories over the next two-week period. To support these decisions, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas will provide signatories with water supply data and information. This information may also be used by other water users to inform their water conservation measures.

• Bi-weekly water-sharing agreement data set (September 12, 2024)

As of September 12, there are 32 water shortage advisories in place for select water management areas across Alberta.

• Alberta Rivers - advisories

Based on monthly snowpack survey data (collected from February 1 to June 1), Alberta produces a water supply outlook that estimates the total runoff volume for 20 locations in southern and central Alberta. The water supply outlook is typically published during the second week of the month.

• Water supply outlook (August 2024)

The August water supply outlook is a long-term river volume forecast for the period from August through September.

Although there is very little change from the June forecast, natural flows in July exceeded the 2023 values in all locations in the South Saskatchewan River Basin, with the largest increases in the Elbow and Highwood River basins. 

Highlights of the July water supply outlook are below:

• Milk River basin – The forecasts for the remainder of the year are below average to much below average.
• Oldman River basin – The forecast for the remainder of the year is below average (St. Mary and Waterton) and much below average (Belly, Oldman at the Dam, and at Lethbridge).
• Bow River basin – The forecast for the remainder of the year is average at all locations, except Spray River and Kananaskis which are below average.
• Red Deer River basin – Forecasts are average.
• North Saskatchewan River basin – The forecast for the remainder of the year is average at Lake Abraham/Bighorn, below average at the City of Edmonton and much below average at Brazeau.

Alberta conducts mountain snowpack surveys monthly from February 1 to June 1 (the Milk River basin is also surveyed in early January). The data is published monthly in the water supply outlook.

In addition to the monthly snowpack surveys, the Alberta River Basins web application and the Alberta Rivers app provides automated snow pillow data from 18 sites, mostly in the mountains and foothills.

June snowpack survey results

Of the 16 June snow surveys completed by government, 12 had average or above average measurements. Fewer sites are surveyed in June because snowpack only remains at higher elevations. These are the final snowpack surveys for the year.

• Oldman River basin – One site surveyed (Akamina Pass 2) had no snow remaining but average for this time of year is only 25 millimetres.
• Bow River basin – All 12 sites surveyed were within the normal range or above.
• Red Deer River basin – Both surveys were within the normal range or above. Gable Mountain was the 4th highest in 42 years.
• North Saskatchewan River basin – One site was surveyed (Limestone) and was the 2nd highest on record.
• Athabasca River basin snow surveys – No locations are surveyed in June.

Alberta’s river monitoring network includes over 450 gauges that report near real-time data via the Alberta River Basins web application and the Alberta Rivers app during the open water season.

Notable measurements as of September 12 at 9 am

• St. Mary River at the international boundary – 87.3 m³/s, which is below the normal range for this time of year.
• Waterton River near Waterton Park – 4.7 m³/s, which is below the normal range for this time of year.
• Oldman River near Lethbridge – 25.1 m³/s, which is at the bottom end of the normal range for this time of year.
• South Saskatchewan River at Medicine Hat – 86 m³/s, which is within the normal range for this time of year.
• Sheep River at Okotoks – 3.6 m³/s, which is within the normal range for this time of year.
• Bow River at Calgary – 103 m³/s, which is above the normal range for this time of year.
• Red Deer River at Red Deer – 47.6 m³/s, which is at the top end of the normal range for this time of year.
• North Saskatchewan River at Edmonton – 267 m³/s, which is above the normal range for this time of year.
• Wapiti River near Grande Prairie – 241.8 m³/s, which is below the normal range for this time of year.
• Peace River at Peace River – 661 m³/s, which is below the normal range for this time of year.
• Athabasca River below Fort McMurray – 458 m³/s, which is below the normal range for this time of year.

Water levels in major southern Alberta reservoirs owned and operated by the Alberta government are shown below.

• Oldman Reservoir – Current storage is 66%. Normal for this time of year is between 71% and 84%.
• St. Mary Reservoir – Current storage is 53%. Normal for this time of year is between 45% and 77%.
• Pine Coulee Reservoir – Current storage is 59%. Normal for this time of year is between 60% and 88%.
• Waterton Reservoir – Current storage is 59%. Normal for this time of year is between 59% and 77%.
• Gleniffer Reservoir (Dickson Dam) – Current storage is 100%. Normal for this time of year is between 95% and 100%.

Water storage volumes in the major irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs of the Milk, Oldman, Bow, Red Deer, North Saskatchewan, and Athabasca River basins are updated each weekday and available in the Provincial Reservoir Storage Summary.

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation produces a soil moisture report periodically during the winter months, with frequency increasing during the growing season.

• Soil moisture report (September 5, 2024)