The new Canada Water Agency—a mandated commitment of the federal government—will provide much-needed solutions to the emerging water crisis, according to Tom Axworthy, chair of a national water policy panel organized by Global Water Futures (GWF) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

“The pandemic has shown us what is possible when we work together to protect the health of Canadians,” said Axworthy, public policy chair at Toronto’s Massey College and former principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
“Similarly, we need to work together to address water security challenges that have been underscored by climate change impacts in communities across Canada. Water-related natural disasters such as floods and fires have cost Canadians $28 billion between 2000 and 2017 alone.”
In mandate letters last December, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on the ministers of the departments of Environment and Climate Change and Agriculture and Agri-Food to create the new agency to “work together with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, local authorities, scientists, and others to find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well-managed.”
Axworthy noted that the focus on co-operative federalism in the Canadian constitution—from the British North America Act to its current form—has paved the way for a Canada Water Agency, which he said is critically important in the face of water security challenges that transcend national boundaries.
He pointed out that the multi-faceted issue of water security is spread out across more 20 departments in the federal government alone. The Canada Water Agency, he said, could begin to address this siloed approach “to protect and manage our freshwater for generations to come.”
The May 13 online national panel discussion, involving more than 650 scientists and water management professionals, marked the start of a series of national and regional discussions though the USask-led Global Water Futures program. Recommendations from these consultations are expected to inform the development of the new agency.

Read the full article here.

Additional article from Environmental Science and Engineering Magazine is available here.

Dr. Chris Marsh has received the University of Saskatchewan Post Graduate Thesis Award for his PhD work on Multi-Scale Modelling of Cold Regions Hydrology.  

Dr. Marsh is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Centre for Hydrology and Global Water Futures (GWF) at the University of Saskatchewan. He is interested in hydrological modelling and related fieldwork and is currently working on the next generation core modelling group developing the Canadian Hydrological Model (CHM).

April 24, 2020
University of Saskatchewan (USask) hydrology PhD student Caroline Aubry-Wake, who studies the impact of climate change on glaciers in the Canadian Rockies, has received the Stan Paterson Scholarship for Student Excellence in Canadian Glaciology.
The award is given by the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU) to a young hydrologist in honour of Dr. Stan Paterson (May 20, 1924 – October 8, 2013), a leading Canadian glaciologist.
Aubry-Wake is member of the USask Global Institute for Water Security and an executive member of the USask-led Global Water Futures Program – Young Professionals.
According to Aubry-Wake, since 1985 Canadian glaciers have shrunk 15 per cent, a number that could rise to 100 per cent by the end of the century.
Such a steep increase in glacier loss in the Rockies would have a devastating impact on mountain streams in Western Canada, including a significant reduction in river water supply, which would threaten cold-water fish and ecosystems and reduce water resources for hydroelectricity on the Prairies and in B.C.
“Estimated glacier loss in the Rockies by the end of the century ranges from 75 to 100 per cent,” Aubry-Wake said. “But there’s only a few studies investigating the details of future glacier melt in Western Canada. My research will help to sharpen these estimates by focusing on three glaciers, to improve our understanding of the key processes responsible for glacier retreat at those sites.”
Aubry-Wake conducts research at the Peyto Glacier in Banff National Park, Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park and Bologna Glacier in the Ragged Range, Northwest Territories.
Her research combines mountain fieldwork and a mathematical hydrological model to assess changes in water resources.

Held on May 13, 2020

In April 2019, GWF and partners issued a public call to action, Water Security for Canadians: Solutions for Canada’s Emerging Water Crisis. It called for modernization of Canada’s water institutions, governance, policies and legislation to better address the emerging national water crisis.

In late 2019, the Government of Canada announced the development of a Canada Water Agency and review of federal water policies and laws by the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment.

Responding to this opportunity, we are continuing the discussion with water practitioners, agencies, organizations and rightsholders across the country. We invite you to join us for a virtual panel discussion on water related issues and needs that a Canada Water Agency can address and provide, and how a Canada Water Agency can compliment existing regional water management issues and mandates.

Featuring Terry Duguid, MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Chaired by Dr. Thomas Axworthy of Massey College, you will hear from experts in water science and governance and guests from provincial and municipal perspectives, examining Canadian water issues and the science, policy and the collaborative responses needed to tackle the emerging water-climate crisis.

For more information

Carolyn Aubry-Wake gave a French language talk on glaciers and forest fires on Wednesday, May 13th.  Listen to this talk and others here.

Image courtesy of RMOToday.com

The following is an excerpt from an article in RMOToday.com:

BOW VALLEY – With warmer weather throughout the Rocky Mountains, experts and municipal officials are keeping an eye on snowpack levels and weather forecasts as well as their potential effects on the Bow Valley’s waterways.

With a network of 35 high-elevation weather stations across the Rocky Mountains – from the Athabasca Glacier to the top of Fortress Mountain – director of the Canmore-based University of Saskatchewan’s Cold Water Laboratory John Pomeroy said Monday (April 27) that snowpack levels in the front ranges are currently above average.

“When you see a lot of snow on the mountains around Canmore, that is reflecting those high front range snowpacks,” Pomeroy said.

Read the full article here

Transitions, an interdisciplinary collaboration with artist Gennadiy Ivanov and Professors Trevor Davies and John Pomeroy, is now available online in two series catalogues. Click on the images above to view them!

The new University of Saskatchewan (USask) hydrology program passed a major milestone last week by achieving certification from Saskatchewan’s licensing body for geoscientists.

At a remote meeting of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS) on March 24, the association’s Academic Review Committee voted that the USask Bachelor of Science Four-Year and Bachelor of Science Honours programs in hydrology meet Canadian knowledge standards in environmental geoscience.

The certification means that students graduating from the undergraduate hydrology program will be eligible for professional registration as geoscientists-in-training—the first step to becoming a professional geoscientist in Saskatchewan.

Read the full article on the Arts & Science website