Water use below average in back-to-back seasons: BRID

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For the second straight year, southern Alberta farmers have been more than happy to watch their soil soak up the rainfall. Each season begins with a question mark, but every time the skies open up and let loose a rainstorm, farmers and irrigation districts breathe a little easier.

 Richard Phillips, GM of the Bow River Irrigation District, explained the uncertainty. “We started out the season not knowing what the weather would be like, as you never do; and that’s what determines our business, right?”

 At the start of the season, one thing Phillips knew for certain was that the district’s reservoir storage was slightly lower than normal. McGregor Reservoir had been drawn down a little for construction last fall and Travers was kept a little higher to compensate.

 Compared to ideal winter levels, the 2025 reservoir levels were on the low side. The 2024 season provided plentiful rain, but over the winter poor snow pack left the reservoirs low by springtime.

 “And of course, that’s what we always look to as being the one thing we can really count on in terms of putting water in the rivers,” Phillips explained about snow accumulation in the mountains. “It was a poor snow pack. So therefore we weren’t too sure what the river would be doing for us.”

 He said the 2025 season started out with a dry spring and heavy irrigation demand in May and the first half of June. The district was at above average demand almost every day during that period.

 “So we were using lots and lots of water up until mid-June, and then we got some great rain there – I think it was about June 20. We had a heavy rainfall, which took demand way down,” he said.

 The first half of July was back to being warmer and drier, and the district was again using above average water. “Then in the middle of July, wow – I mean, everything just changed,” Phillips said. “We got all kinds of rain from July right through until now (mid-August), and we’ve had extremely low demand, so it’s been quite a year.”

 He said in 2024, water use was at its lowest since 2011, or 20 per cent below average. Last year was far below average, and Phillips made an educated guess that this year’s irrigation use will fall below average to a lesser extent – perhaps by five to 10 per cent.

 BRID is progressively adding pipelines to their system each year as part of a water conservation strategy, but Phillips said there will be no intentional reservoir drawdowns for construction in the coming winter.

 “(We’re) actually going to keep Travers a little higher than normal. The government has agreed to that, so that’s great,” he said. “So we’ll be storing more water, probably than we ever have, going into this winter.”

“Reservoirs right now are very high, way higher than normal for the middle of August. It’s great, you couldn’t ask for a better situation for water right now. Loads of water, not really using any right now to speak of. Super low demand.”