Drought

Living close to the prairies in Central Alberta, Canada, for 30+ years,
I have been a keen observer of weather. Over the last three years I have served on the board of the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance.

This non-profit society serve as the designated Watershed Planning and Advisory Council for the Red Deer River watershed comprising some 50,000 square kilometres, under the Government of Alberta’s Water for Life Strategy.

And now things are coming to a head where we are entering into a second summer of severe drought, which is happening in the North Western United States as well.

At this time water flow rates in our rivers in Central/South Alberta are well below normal for this time of year, indicating depleted shallow ground water reserves.

Thankfully, the snowpack in the mountains is reported as being petty well normal which should ensure that our water reservoirs (Like Gleniffer Lake where I live) will be filled up over the summer.

Periods of drought are not new on the Canadian prairies, the last major one being in the 1930ies, during the Great Depression, also called the “dirty thirties” when dry topsoil was blown around by great winds and into peoples’ homes and literally moved from one farm to another some times by the wind.

Sad to say, but the only time we really appreciate the value of something is when we lose it. And that goes for water as well.