Canada Water Act annual report for 2016 to 2017: chapter 5
5. Inter-jurisdictional water boards
Inter-jurisdictional water boards have been established to focus on specific water issues that have implications for more than one province or territory. Domestic inter-jurisdictional boards include the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board (ORRPB), Prairie Provinces Water Board (PPWB), Mackenzie River Basin Board (MRBB), and the Lake of the Woods Control Board (LWCB). The 2016–2017 activities of each are described below. There are also many international transboundary and inter-jurisdictional water boards in which Canada participates, most of which are led by the IJC. IJC work is not covered under the CWA; ECCC’s progress towards work plans is reported internally under the Environment and Climate Change Canada–International Joint Commission Memorandum of Understanding.
5.1 Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board
In 1983, Canada, Quebec and Ontario concluded the Agreement Respecting Ottawa River Basin Regulation. Under its terms, a board was constituted to plan and recommend regulation criteria for the 13 principal reservoirs of the basin, taking into account flood protection, hydroelectric power production and other interests. Supported by a regulating committee and secretariat, the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board endeavours to ensure that the integrated management of the reservoirs provides protection against flooding along the Ottawa River and its tributaries, and along its channels in the Montreal region.
The 2016 spring freshet was notable for its duration and volumes. The freshet started extremely early in the southern basins and ended unusually late in the northern basins. The amount of water in the snowpack was above average for the northern part of the basin and normal in the southern part. This amount of snow, combined with heavy precipitation received in March, led to a sharp increase in flows in mid-March. Fortunately, a lack of rain during the snowmelt period limited the severity of flooding. Considering the 1963–2015 historic record at the Carillon dam, the 2016 freshet flood peak was exceeded in 22% of cases. However, the freshet volume at Carillon from March 15 to May 31, 2016, was exceeded in only 9% of cases.
Through the integrated management of the principal reservoirs, flooding along the Ottawa River in areas that are regularly affected by high water was minimized all through the freshet. Given the high freshet volume, the use of flood reserves was necessary for the management of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.
Total energy production on the Ottawa and Gatineau Rivers for Hydro-Quebec was 9% above average while energy production for Ontario Power Generation (OPG) was slightly above average on the Ottawa River and below average on the Madawaska River for the given period.
The Board supported a number of public information initiatives through the Ottawa River Regulation Secretariat. The Secretariat, which is housed at ECCC, maintains a website and a recorded message on toll-free telephone services in English and French, both of which provide information about water levels and flows at various locations in the basin. In 2016, the Secretariat recorded 56,100 page views on its website during the freshet period (March-June), which is higher than the previous year. The total number of unique users of the site was 9790. This increase is primarily due to the unusual formation of frazilFootnote 7 ice experienced in January and the significant water volume of the freshet.
5.2 Prairie Provinces Water Board
Recognizing that water use within one province may impact another province, and because federal and provincial governments have shared responsibility for water, the governments of Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba signed the Master Agreement on Apportionment (MAA) in October 1969. The purpose of this agreement is to apportion water between the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and to protect surface water quality and transboundary aquifers. The MAA also provides for cooperation among governments with respect to transboundary water management and for the establishment of the Prairie Provinces Water Board (PPWB) to administer the MAA.
The overarching deliverable for the PPWB is to report on the achievement of the terms of the MAA. The MAA provides for an equitable sharing of available waters for all eastward-flowing streams, including transboundary lakes that cross provincial boundaries. The schedules to the Agreement describe the role of the Board and stipulate the amount and quality of water that shall pass from Alberta to Saskatchewan and from Saskatchewan to Manitoba.
In support of the MAA, ECCC monitors stream flows and meteorological conditions on eastward-flowing streams and water quality at the provincial borders (see Figure 8). The PPWB computes apportionable flows on a river as though that river had never been affected by the activities of people. The PPWB also calculates excursions or exceedances and adherence to the MAA water quality objectives annually.
Figure 8: PPWB water quantity and quality monitoring stations and basins for 2016
Description of figure 8
Figure 8 is a map of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba that shows the Prairie Provinces Water Board water quantity and quality monitoring stations and basins. PPWB water quantity and/or quality monitoring is performed in the following areas: 1. Cold River; 2. Beaver River; 3. North Saskatchewan River; 4. Battle River; 5. Red Deer River A/S; 6. South Saskatchewan River; 7. Battle Creek; 8. Middle Creek; 9. Lodge Creek; 10. Churchill River; 11. Saskatchwan Rvier; 12. Carrot River; 13. Red Deer River S/M; 14. Assiniboine River; 15. Qu'Appelle River; 16. Pipestone Creek.
Activities and accomplishments of the PPWB in 2016–2017 included the following:
- The PPWB approved the 2015 Water Quality Excursion Report. The overall adherence to Interprovincial Water Quality Objectives was very high with an average of 96.5% in 2015, such that water quality continues to be protected. The adherence rate was based on the comparison of 4674 water quality results to water quality objectives.
- Apportionment requirements were reviewed and determined to have been met in the calendar year of 2015 on all eastward-flowing prairie streams. Interim flows indicate that 2016 apportionment requirements were met on the South Saskatchewan River. It is anticipated that once computations are completed, they will demonstrate that there were not any problems in meeting apportionment for 2016 on any transboundary stream.
- A project to review apportionment methods is continuing. The Saskatchewan River Basin and the Qu’Appelle River Basin, both at the Saskatchewan/Manitoba boundary, are undergoing reviews. The Saskatchewan River Basin review is expected to be completed in early 2017 while the Qu’Appelle River Basin review is expected to be completed at the end of the 2017–2018 fiscal year.
- Work continued on the development of a proposed schedule to the MAA related to transboundary aquifers. A groundwater schedule was drafted and continues to undergo an internal review by the members of the PPWB. The objective of the schedule will be to establish a cooperative framework for effective and efficient management and sustainable use of groundwater and aquifer systems by the Parties of the MAA.
- The PPWB held their first water quality workshop in Regina, Saskatchewan on October 4-5, 2016, focusing specifically on nutrients and current and emerging water quality issues in prairie water management. It provided an orientation and networking opportunity for approximately 50 water quality specialists and managers from participating jurisdictions.
- In November 2016, the PPWB approved the hydrometric and meteorological monitoring station list for 2017. There were no proposed changes from 2016 to 2017.
- Also in November 2016, the PPWB approved the 2017 water quality monitoring program. After a review of pesticide data from all 12 transboundary rivers, acid herbicides were added as part of the annual monitoring program to six of the transboundary rivers including: the Battle River, South Saskatchewan River, North Saskatchewan River, Red Deer River (Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary), Saskatchewan River, and the Qu’Appelle River.
5.3 Mackenzie River Basin Board
The governments of Canada, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Yukon signed the Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement in July 1997. The Master Agreement endorses the principle of managing water resources for future generations such that the ecological integrity of the aquatic ecosystem is maintained. It provides for early and effective consultation on potential developments and activities in the basin that could affect the integrity of the aquatic ecosystem. It also contains provisions for seven sets of bilateral agreements between adjacent jurisdictions in the basin.
The Mackenzie River Basin Board (MRBB) represents all parties to the Master Agreement, and administers the provisions of the Master Agreement. Federal members include representatives from ECCC and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Health Canada also participates, providing support and expertise on human health issues. The three provinces and two territories in the basin are represented by 10 members, including an appointee from each provincial and territorial government water management agencies, and an Indigenous board member representing Indigenous peoples in each of the five provinces and territories in the basin.
Under the Master Agreement, ECCC is responsible for managing the expenditures of the MRBB, which are cost-shared equally by the parties. Cost-shared expenditures include the staffing and operation of the Secretariat office in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to provide working-level support for the Board. The Secretariat is made up of an executive director, who is hired by ECCC and is responsible for planning, directing and managing Board operations.
Key activities and accomplishments included the following:
- A British Columbia-Yukon Bilateral Water Management Agreement was concluded on March 30, 2017 to establish and implement a framework for cooperating to achieve the principles of the Master Agreement.
- The MRBB tracked the progress of bilateral water management negotiations between British Columbia and Alberta, and Alberta and Saskatchewan.
- The MRBB tracked the implementation of bilateral water management agreements between Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
- The MRBB published the Mackenzie River Basin Board Report to Ministers 2015–2016. The report describes the activities of the Board during this period and is available on the MRBB website.
- The MRBB Traditional Knowledge and Strengthening Partnerships Steering Committee partnered with the University of Alberta, other national and international academics and the Government of the Northwest Territories to gather and communicate water-related traditional and local knowledge from around the Mackenzie River Basin. The project, titled Tracking Change – Local and Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance will also provide the MRBB with the opportunity to learn from Indigenous experiences with bodies of water on other continents, specifically the Amazon Basin in South America and the Mekong Basin in Asia.
- Some MRBB members participated in the Tracking Change – Local and Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance Youth Knowledge Fair, which was held in Edmonton in May 2016. Students from across the Mackenzie River Basin came together to present and share information about water issues.
- MRBB Indigenous Board members participated in the Tracking Change – Local and Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance Global Knowledge Symposium, held in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand in February 2017.
5.4 Lake of the Woods Control Board
The Lake of the Woods Control Board (LWCB) does not fall under the Canada Water Act, but it is included in this report to provide a more complete picture of federal-provincial water management in Canada. The LWCB is a Board consisting of four members, each with an alternate, who represent Canada (one member), Ontario (two members) and Manitoba (one member). Appointments are made by orders in council of the appropriate government, and each appointee must be a professional engineer.
The LWCB, established in 1919, is responsible for the regulation of levels in Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul and flows in the Winnipeg and English rivers, downstream from these lakes to their junction. In addition, when the level of Lac Seul exceeds certain specified levels, the LWCB controls the diversion of water from Lake St. Joseph (Albany system) into Lac Seul.
The LWCB’s authority is defined by concurrent Canada–Ontario–Manitoba legislation (Lake of the Woods Control Board Act; 1921, 1922, 1958) and is further mandated by a Canada–U.S. treaty (Convention and Protocol for Regulating the Level of the Lake of the Woods, 1925), since Lake of the Woods is an international boundary body of water. This treaty also created a second board, the International Lake of the Woods Control Board (ILWCB). Although Lake of the Woods is normally regulated solely by the LWCB, the outflow from the lake is subject to the approval of the ILWCB whenever the level of the lake rises above or falls below certain levels specified in the treaty.
The LWCB maintains a full-time Secretariat that monitors conditions in the basin, provides information and analysis, and recommends regulating strategies or specific outflows. It also implements the LWCB’s operating strategy, conducts studies and maintains communications with basin users.
In 2016, conditions in the Winnipeg River basin allowed the LWCB to maintain Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul within their normal operating ranges, balancing lake levels with flow conditions on the Winnipeg and English Rivers. The lakes under the LWCB’s authority were maintained within the water level limits established under the Canada-United States treaty and federal and provincial legislation.
In 2016, the LWCB held three regulation meetings with resource advisors and special interest group representatives in Kenora, Ontario. These meetings resulted in the adoption of seasonal operating strategies employed by the LWCB Secretariat in daily operations.
The LWCB continued its normal engagement activities, hosting a booth at the Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association’s annual Cottage Show in Winnipeg in May, visiting Shoal Lake to examine the City of Winnipeg’s water intake and aqueduct facility, and holding an open house in Kenora in June. Other outreach activities included media interviews, phone calls and email interaction with the public. The 2015 LWCB Annual Report was published in June 2016.
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