Sectoral Allocations - South Saskatchewan River Basin

The largest sector use of water in the South Saskatchewan River basin is for agriculture. Overall, 73% of allocations in 2006 were for irrigation purposes, with an additional 2% allocated to non-irrigation agriculture. The next largest uses are for municipal water supply (14.5%), other use-water management (3.5%) and commercial (3.5%). Growth in allocations has been closely related to the growth of the irrigation sector, with increasing demand from municipalities since the 1970's. In 2006, 70% of the natural supply of the South Saskatchewan River basin was allocated for use; when the Red Deer River basin is included the figure for the basin drops to 60%.

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 South Saskatchewan River basin includes the Oldman, Bow, and Red Deer Rivers. Excluding flow contribution from the Red Deer basin, the South Saskatchewan River is approaching 70% allocation. Relative levels of water allocation vary across the sub-basins, ranging from 20.5% of natural flow in the Red Deer to 65% and 66.5% in the Oldman and Bow, respectively.