Southern Alberta is experiencing a water crisis. 

Environmental degradation is changing the way our water is naturally managed, while climate change is making our water supply more unpredictable. To sustain our watershed and water supply into an uncertain future, the Calgary Climate Hub is mobilizing a collaborative campaign to protect and restore the integrity of the South Saskatchewan River Watershed (SSRW).

What is the South Saskatchewan Watershed (SSRW)? 

Watershed describes the land area that collects water – rainwater, snowmelt, and runoff – into creeks, streams and rivers. The South Saskatchewan River is formed where Oldman and Bow Rivers meet, feeding Calgary, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat, and later joined by the Red Deer River. 

The surrounding forests and grasslands act like a thick sponge, absorbing and storing rainwater and snowmelt, then slowly releasing steady, clean, and cool water into rivers and streams that sustain Southern Alberta.

What is at risk?

Watersheds have an important role in conserving water and promoting sustainable water systems, and yet our watersheds are threatened by the cumulative impacts of environmental degradation. This includes:

• Degraded riparian areas
  • Degraded riparian zones describe the loss of vegetation and ecosystems alongside bodies of water. These degraded areas alter the critical functions of the area due to poor water retention, increased erosion, and increased destructive energy of flood waters.
• Clear-cut logging
  • Clear-cut logging warms water and increases polluted runoff
• Mining and O&G wells
  • Toxic byproducts of mining and oil and gas wells contaminate water, risking our rivers and animals, drinking water, and agriculture.

To address the crisis, we must: 

1. Legislate Stronger Water and Watershed Protections and Regulation
2. Improve Regulatory Enforcement and Compliance
3. Adopt an Ecosystem Based Management Strategy
4. Adopt a Province-Wide Climate Action Plan