Evaluation of Water Resource Management and Use program: chapter 1

Executive Summary

The report presents the results of the evaluation of the relevance and performance of the Water Resource Management and Use (WRMU) program conducted by Environment Canada’s (EC) Audit and Evaluation Branch between June 2013 and July 2014.

The program is co-led by the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) and EC’s West and North Region, with participation from a number of other branches within the Department. The focus of this program is on activities that support ongoing water management through EC’s roles in domestic interprovincial/territorial and international water management boards. These boards provide integrated decision making for the management of inter-jurisdictional waters and are aimed at protecting ecosystems and the health, property and economic well-being of citizens. The program also includes a small level of activity for the review of licence applications and exception notifications under the International River Improvements Act (IRIA), including contributing to environmental assessments and participating in certain region-specific water management-related activities. 

The evaluation examined the five-year timeframe from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014, and its focus was limited to those activities which were still being undertaken by the program as of 2013-2014.^Footnote1 As such, the primary focus of the evaluation is on EC’s activities related to the water management boards and its work in support of the IRIA. Environment Canada resources dedicated to this program were approximately $3.3M in 2013-14, or approximately 0.3% of the Department’s direct program spending.

Methodologies used in the evaluation were a document review, key informant interviews with internal and external stakeholders (31 interviews in total), and an online survey of external water management board members and International Joint Commission (IJC) board advisors.

Relevance

The Department’s activities in the WRMU program address a continued need for the management of watersheds across inter-jurisdictional boundaries to support the protection of ecosystems, provide protection from flooding and drought, and support economic activities. 

Environment Canada’s involvement in the water management boards and administration of the IRIA supports federal legislation and is consistent with federal roles and responsibilities. Further, the work of the WRMU program supports commitments outlined in various agreements pertaining to both the domestic and IJC water management boards and the Department’s work related to administering the IRIA.

The program is consistent with federal priorities related to the environment, public safety and the economy, and it aligns with departmental strategic outcomes.

Achievement of Intended Outcomes

Documentary and qualitative evidence suggests that the program is achieving direct outcomes related to: meeting commitments and legal obligations for inter-jurisdictional water resource management; ensuring water resource decision-makers have the information they need to make shared resource decisions; and supporting cooperative and integrated approaches with other governments and water managers for sustainable water management.

The provision of information and expertise was identified as a particular strength of the program, with external stakeholders providing very positive ratings regarding the quality of technical information provided by EC and the advice and participation of EC board/committee members in support of decision making.

Furthermore, quality information is being used to a very high degree in the water management board’s consensus-based decision making, and collaboration and trust among water resource decision-makers across different jurisdictions is reported to be high according to both EC and external stakeholders.

Appropriate progress is also being made toward the long-term outcomes related to effective management of Canada’s water resources to: i) protect ecosystems; ii) protect the health and property of citizens; and iii) support economic activities. In particular, the protection of health and property of citizens (especially through the various boards’ efforts in the prevention and communication of the extent and duration of floods and droughts) was considered by interviewed and surveyed stakeholders as the most successful of the three elements of the final outcome. Examples of support for economic activities include the boards’ contribution to the effective functioning of hydroelectric power generation, tourism, and commercial water navigation.

Feedback from external stakeholders regarding the Department’s performance in support of the water management boards was very positive. When asked to indicate their overall level of satisfaction with EC’s involvement in the water management boards/committees over the past year, stakeholders provided a mean rating of 8 out of 10.

Efficiency and Economy

A network of EC staff participates in the work of the various water management boards on a part-time basis. This contributes to efficient delivery, as this approach consumes only as many resources as are needed, allows an individual to perform multiple functions within the Department, and ensures that the individual with the most appropriate expertise is engaged. Although individual board-level activities are being conducted efficiently, delivery of the program is dispersed, and there are opportunities to improve the overall efficiency through greater coordination, consistency and collaboration among the various water management boards.

Those involved in the work of the water management boards generally feel that EC’s roles and responsibilities are clear and well understood, and a recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between EC and the IJC provides additional clarity regarding expectations. It is felt, however, that EC’s involvement in the boards, including EC roles and obligations, is not as clearly understood throughout the Department or by senior management, which may contribute to inefficiencies.

A majority of EC program representatives and management serving on boards feel the governance mechanisms for the WRMU program are unclear. Although there are two DG-level committees that address components of EC’s work related to water management, there is no forum to coordinate EC’s work across the various water management boards. MSC’s recent reorganization, which consolidates the management of a number of board secretariats under one director, is viewed as a positive move in this direction, as it establishes a structure to support coordination and collaboration within the program. It does not, however, address all of the program’s board-related activities.

Resources for EC’s participation in the water management boards are generally viewed as “lean” but adequate, although challenges were identified in supporting boards managed by staff in the West and North Region and in addressing requests for additional technical/scientific studies. The various MOUs which describe EC’s involvement in the water management boards serve to protect the Department from the potential of board decisions impacting EC operational budgets.

A performance measurement strategy does not currently exist for the WRMU program, and while there is reporting at the individual board level, very little performance data specific to EC’s activities in this area is collected or reported. The development of the first Environment Canada IJC MOU Annual Report does, however, provide a brief synthesis of key achievements under each Annex to the MOU, including a summary of financial expenditures and resources provided by EC in support of IJC activities.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1:  Review the current governance and management of the WRMU program, and consider the introduction of mechanisms to increase information sharing, consistency and collaboration across the program.

Recommendation 2: Develop and implement a performance measurement strategy to support effective management and reporting on the results of the WRMU program.

Management Response

As the senior departmental officials responsible for the management of the WRMU program, the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of the MSC and the Regional Director General (RDG), West and North, agree with the recommendations and have developed a management response that appropriately addresses both of the recommendations.

The full management response can be found in Section 6 of the report.