The Conversation - Arctic rivers face big changes with a warming climate, permafrost thaw and an accelerating water cycle − the effects will have global consequences
This recent article, published by Michael A. Rawlins and Ambarish Karmalkar on The Conversation, highlights how arctic rivers are undergoing significant transformations due to the warming climate and permafrost thaw, with far-reaching implications for both the Arctic region and the world.
The Tyee - Alberta’s Brutal Water Reckoning
This recent article, published by Andrew Nikiforuk at The Tyee highlights the escalating water crisis in Alberta, driven by climate change-induced droughts and dwindling water resources. With reduced snowpack accumulations, melting glaciers, and critical water shortages across river basins, the province faces severe challenges in maintaining water supply for its residents and industries.
CTV News - Why drought on the prairies is making your steak more expensive
This recent article, highlighted by CTV News, sheds light on the significant impact of consecutive drought years on North America's beef industry, leading to higher retail prices for consumers. Ranchers, faced with depleted grasslands and rising input costs, have been forced to downsize their herds, resulting in a reduction in overall beef production.
The Western Producer - Communities feel pinch as river levels plummet
This recent article featured on The Western Producer highlights the mounting stress that climate change is exerting on Canada’s water resources, and the mounting need for a consistent national approach to addressing water vulnerability. Communities along the South Saskatchewan River are dealing with depleting water levels, which is caused the town of Leader, Saskatchewan to declare a state of emergency because they couldn't get enough water from the river for their town.
The Hill Times - Canadian Drought Monitor reports extreme or severe drought conditions in large areas of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan
“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.”
The Globe and Mail - Loss of snow and impact on water supplies tied to climate change
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.
Global News - Alberta facing water restrictions, ‘agricultural disaster’ if drought conditions persist
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.
CNN - New maps show where snowfall is disappearing
“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.”
CANADIAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Water News Volume 42, No 4 – Fall 2023: Eliminating the unknowns: Canada1Water reveals the country’s water future with a new continental-scale model.
The Canadian Water Resources Association has included a feature article on the Canada1Water project in the latest issue of Water News CWRA's official magazine.
"Few decisions are more crucial to our future than how we manage freshwater resources. Wise choices require a clear understanding of conditions today and how they are likely to change over time. That’s exactly what the Canada1Water project aims to provide by giving Canadian decision-makers an all-new continental-scale model of groundwater, surface water and climate interactions that looks out to the end of this century".
New York Times - A Tangle of Rules to Protect America’s Water Is Falling Short
“AMERICA’S STEWARDSHIP of one of its most precious resources, groundwater, relies on a patchwork of state and local rules so lax and outdated that in many places oversight is all but nonexistent, a New York Times analysis has found.”
NRCan’s Simply Science highlights C1W - The science of seeing into the future: Canada’s groundwater
“With scientists predicting major water shortages in less than 10 years, we need to make smart choices today about how to use and protect our water resources. The Canada1Water project aims to help. Co-led by Natural Resources Canada’s Groundwater Geoscience Program and Aquanty Inc., it will give Canadians powerful new tools to understand the country’s water future.” - Simply Science
The Conversation - Understanding the dynamics of snow cover in forests can help us predict flood risks
An piece in The Conversation highlights the important role that winter snowpack plays on hydrology, and how a better understanding of snow depth in forested catchments can help us better predict flood risks during the spring freshet.
New York Times - America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow
The NY Times performed comprehensive analysis of decades worth groundwater level data across America, and the findings indicate that there is a national groundwater crisis (that has been growing in severity for quite some time).
The Water Institute - Baseflow trends across Canada: The impact of climate change
This recent article in The Water Institute’s newsletter - WaterResearch - highlights a statistical analysis of baseflow trends to streams and rivers across Canada. The results of this work can inform water resources management by identifying the direction of change in groundwater availability across Canada and regions where interventions may be necessary.
CBC News - Dwindling water supply leaves some southern Alberta farmers dry
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 .