Evaluation of Water Resource Management and Use program: chapter 5

2. Background

2.1 Program Overview

The WRMU program aims to support the efficient management and use of water resources under the Canada Water Act and the 1987 Federal Water Policy. It also addresses Canada’s obligations to the International Joint Commission (IJC), an organization with responsibilities for regulating shared water uses and addressing transboundary issues in waters shared between Canada and the United States.^Footnote2 As part of its work within this program, EC provides leadership, information and expertise to support water management decisions.

The focus and activities of this program changed significantly in 2012-2013 as a result of measures introduced to respond to Budget 2012 decisions.^Footnote3 Previously under Environmental Stewardship Branch (ESB) leadership, the program had a strong emphasis on activities related to promoting water conservation and compiling information on water use, conservation, and efficiency for municipalities, key economic sectors and the Canadian public. As of 2012-2013, these activities are no longer conducted by EC.

Leadership for this program is now jointly shared by the MSC and the RDG, West and North. The current focus of this program is on activities supporting ongoing water management through EC’s roles with the international and interprovincial/territorial water management boards.^Footnote4 The boards were established to provide integrated decision making for the management of inter-jurisdictional waters aimed at protecting ecosystems and the health, property and economic well-being of citizens. Mandates vary by board, but focus primarily on water levels and flows, particularly as they relate to balancing a variety of interests and managing under extreme conditions such as flood and drought. Issues of water quality are also addressed.

Other smaller areas of activity contained within this program include:

• Activities related to administration of the International River Improvements Act (IRIA). This work was previously managed by ESB but responsibility now resides with the MSC.
• Region-specific water management related activities (described in section 2.2).

The WRMU program has very close linkages with the Hydrological Service and Water Survey Program (sub-program 1.2.3), which serves as a critical resource for the WRMU program by informing the decisions made by the water management boards. To a lesser degree, the program also has linkages with the Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystems Health Program (sub-program 1.2.1), which also provides information on water quality that supports the boards.

2.2 Activities

Water Management Board Activities

The activities of this program contribute to both domestic (i.e., inter-provincial/territorial) and international water management boards and their associated task forces or committees.

EC provides support to four domestic inter-provincial water management boards, which cover an area of approximately 3.2 million km², or about one-third of Canada’s land mass.^Footnote5 In addition, EC provides support to approximately 17 international (Canada-US) water management boards. For the most part, these international boards were established by the IJC. A listing of the boards, along with a brief description, can be found in Annex 4.

EC participation in the domestic and international water management boards varies by board. Key roles include:

• participating on boards, committees and task forces, including in the role of chair or co-chair;
• providing water quantity, water quality, meteorological, climatological and other environmental expertise and data;^Footnote6
• providing engineering and scientific expertise, knowledge, tools and programs to contribute to special studies;
• hosting and providing management of board secretariats, including both i) technical support (e.g., calculating water levels and flow as required for monitoring compliance with IJC orders or apportionment agreements between provinces; conducting technical and scientific analyses to provide direction to board members on regulation activities; preparing reports on water management issues; drafting responses to questions from the public); and ii) administrative support (e.g., organizing board meetings; maintaining correspondence, minutes and records of decisions; liaising with advisors; managing website content).

 

International River Improvements Act (IRIA) Activities

The WRMU Program also conducts activities related to the administration of the IRIA.^Footnote7 The goal of the IRIA is to ensure that development and use of Canada’s water resources in international river basins is in the best national interest. The IRIA states that no person shall construct, operate or maintain an “international river improvement” unless they hold a valid licence under the Act.  International river improvements may include dams, obstructions, canals, reservoirs, pipelines or other works which might alter the natural flow of an international river and interfere with the use of the river outside Canada.^Footnote8

Activities conducted by the WRMU program to administer this Act include overseeing and reviewing licence applications and exception notifications and publishing an annual report. As part of these reviews, the program conducts hydro-technical assessments of surface water quantity issues to inform water management and use. In addition, IRIA program expertise in hydrological and hydraulic studies is used to meet Section 20 obligations under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA, 2012) for projects proposed on non-international rivers in areas of federal interest.^Footnote9

 

Other Regional Water Management Activities

In addition, the program may contribute to other regional activities related to water management as required. Examples include contributing to the Columbia River Treaty Review process,^Footnote10participation in federal-provincial activities examining water availability, use and ecological requirements within the Great Lakes Basin in Ontario, and RDG West and North engagement with British Columbia on changes to the province’s water laws to ensure alignment with relevant federal roles and responsibilities.

2.3 Governance and Management

EC Governance and Organization

A significant portion of the program’s activities reside in the organizations of the two co-leads (DG Weather and Environmental Monitoring, MSC and RDG West and North). There are, however, a number of other branches which also conduct activities under this program, as described in Table 1.

 

Effective April 1, 2014, as part of a broader branch-wide reorganization, the MSC consolidated all boards previously managed within MSC (approximately 12) into one directorate.^Footnote14

Two DG-level committees address issues that fall within the program’s scope.

• Water Availability Committee (WAC): The two co-leads of the WRMU program (DG Weather and Environmental Monitoring, MSC and RDG West and North) are also co-leads on the WAC, a DG-level committee established in 2010 to facilitate information sharing and coordination of the Department’s overall water portfolio.
• IJC DG Committee: This committee is chaired by the DG, Americas Directorate, IAB, and coordinates activities across the various organizations involved in work for IJC and international transboundary water issues.

 

IJC and Board Governance

The IJC is an independent bi-national institution. Canada and the US each appoint three commissioners to the IJC, including one chair from each country. Commissioners are appointed by the highest level of government in each country; once appointed they operate at arm's length and do not represent their governments.^Footnote15 In April 2013, an MOU was signed between EC and the IJC to provide additional clarity regarding the nature of the services and level of support provided by EC to the IJC.^Footnote16The MOU includes three annexes addressing the detailed expectations pertaining to staffing, functions, monitoring requirements and special projects for the various boards/committees/task forces in each of the Canada-US water basins.

Additionally, all domestic and international water management boards have their own unique governance structure, with representation from all relevant jurisdictions. Board decision making attempts to consider and balance all interests in the relevant water basin. As previously noted, in many instances, the role of chair or co-chair for these boards is an activity performed by EC as a responsibility of the WRMU program.

2.4 Resources

Tables 2 and 3 present WRMU program resources as tracked in EC’s financial system for the five-year study period. The figures reflect changes to the program including: the discontinuation in 2012-2013 of ESB’s water conservation activities; transfer of the Lake Winnipeg G&C program (managed by RDG) out of the program in 2010-2011; and the transfer of certain responsibilities from ESB to MSC. The IAB and S&T Branch resources shown pertain to EC’s hosting of the UNEP GEMS/Water program.  As such, the 2013-2014 expenditures for the ongoing activities of the WRMU program addressed by this evaluation are estimated at approximately $3.3 million, including cost recovered funds, with an approximate allocation of two-thirds from MSC and one-third from RDG.^Footnote17

Vote netted revenue (VNR) represents the portion of expenditures that are cost recovered by the program from the IJC or other jurisdictions, primarily to cover expenses associated with the provision of secretariat services. Likewise, Specified Purpose Account (SPA) revenues reflect funds received from other jurisdictions to cover the cost recovered for domestic boards in RDG West and North.^Footnote18

Source: FTE information extracted by EC Corporate Finance from EC's Salary Management System. Other data
extracted by EC Corporate Finance from EC's financial system.

1. Includes G&C amounts of $583,318 pertaining to Lake Winnipeg, which is no longer part of this program.
2. In addition to $500,000 for the UNEP GEMS G&C, also includes a $20,000 G&C from MSC, which falls under the umbrella terms and conditions for "Water Resources."

Source: FTE information extracted by EC Corporate Finance from EC's Salary Management System. Other data
extracted by EC Corporate Finance from EC's financial system.

1. Includes G&C amounts of $583,318 pertaining to Lake Winnipeg, which is no longer part of this program.
2. S&T expenditures reflect work associated with UNEP GEMS.
3. IAB expenditures represent the UNEP GEMS G&C.

2.5 Program Logic Model

There is no approved logic model associated with this program. A draft logic model was developed for the purpose of the evaluation, based on a review of documentation and discussions with program staff and evaluation committee members. The draft logic model was reviewed with the co-leads for the program as part of a review of the evaluation plan and deemed to be an accurate representation of the program for the purpose of the evaluation.

The draft logic model can be found in Annex 1. The expected outcomes from the draft logic model are presented below. These outcomes were used in the evaluation for the assessment of performance.

Short-term outcomes

• Canada’s commitments and legal obligations related to its legislative and operational mandates for the inter-jurisdictional water resource management boards are met.
• Water resource decision-makers^Footnote19 have the information they need to make shared resource decisions.
• Mechanisms are in place to support cooperative and integrated approaches with other governments and water managers for sustainable water management.

Intermediate outcome

• Water resource decision-makers use information to make decisions in a collaborative manner to reduce risks in inter-jurisdictional waters.

Final outcome

• Canada’s water resources are conserved and effectively managed to: i) protect ecosystems; ii) protect the health and property of citizens; and iii) support economic activities.