Sectoral Allocations - North Saskatchewan River Basin

Overall water allocations dropped between 2004 and 2005 in the North Saskatchewan River basin as a result of an administrative review that cancelled some unused licenses. Allocations increased marginally in 2006. The largest sector use of water is for commercial-cooling water in power plants, representing about 81.5% of total allocations in 2006. The next largest uses are for municipal water supply (6.5%), miscellaneous commercial (4.5%), oil and gas (3.5%) and agriculture (2.5%). Growth in allocations has slowed somewhat from the rapid rise 1950 to 1980 period. As of 2006, nearly 36% of the natural supply of the North Saskatchewan River basin (including Battle and Sounding basins) was allocated for use. For the North Saskatchewan River alone, the figure is 27.5%

Note that allocations are not a direct measure of actual use, rather they represent the maximum amount of water that can be used under the terms of licenses that have been issued, when and if sufficient water is available in the quantities licensed in a given year.

The North Saskatchewan River basin includes the Battle River and Sounding Creek basins. Allocation totals include data from Sounding Creek basin, which does not normally contribute any flows to the North Saskatchewan River but is part of the North Saskatchewan River basin.