“Periodic droughts are a normal occurrence in the semi-arid Prairies. Yet there is a new factor that may makes them both more frequent and more severe: climate change. This has big implications for Canada's potential to feed itself, and to help meet a food-short world in the years ahead. This will require much greater attention to water security, soil health and to sustainable agricultural practices, including regenerative agriculture.”

A new study - highlighted in The Globe and Mail - reveals the impact that climate change has played on snowpack across the Northern Hemisphere, and the accelerating shift toward an increasingly snowless future. The implications for regional hydrology are not uniform across Canada or any other nation (some regions may experience more snowpack, others less), but it is clear that changing snowpack dynamics will certainly result in changes to the overall behaviour of hydrologic systems and exacerbate water resources vulnerability in the coming decades.

A new article in Global News sounds the warning call for water resources managers in Alberta, which seems set to experience yet another year of unprecedented drought. The article highlights the many knock on effects that limited snowpack over the winter months can cause later in the year. From dwindling potable water supplies and restrictions on acceptable water use in communities, to increasing wildfire risk, crop failure and shrinking cattle herds, our changing climate is wreaking havoc on all aspects of society.

“Less snow falling from the sky also means less snow piling up into snowpack — a deep, persistent cover of snow that accumulates during the winter. It is crucial for water supplies because it acts like a natural reservoir, storing water as snow during wet times and then releasing it in the form of snowmelt when water is harder to come by, University of Washington environmental engineering professor Jessica Lundquist told CNN.”

Extended drought in southern Alberta is resulting in unprecedented impacts to local farmers and communities. This is an exceptional article which highlights the interconnectedness of water resources - demonstrating the domino effect that can occur when over-extraction of water from one river or reservoir results in the need to draw from other sources, which can then run dry themselves .

Drought conditions continue to intensify across British Columbia, with 8 of 34 water basins currently classified as Level 5 on the drought index (advese impacts almost certain), and another 13 water basins classified as Level 4 (adverse impacts likely). This new article on CBC News provides key insights on the impacts of these drought conditions, with commentary from the provincial River Forecast Centre and Ministry of Agriculture. The frequency and severity of drought conditions in this region seem to be increasing; what does the future have in store for BC’s water cycle? This is what the Canada1Water project aims to answer!

While springtime flooding is a drastic and near-immediate reminder of the importance of managing water resources, as we move into the summer months we will invariably hear more and more about the impacts of drought on regional hydrology throughout Canada, impacts which are often even more disastrous (though less ‘flashy’) than catastrophic flooding. This article in the Globe and Mail sounds the alarm on drought in southern Alberta, specifically the Foothills County region, which has just declared an agricultural disaster amid years of ongoing drought.