North Saskatchewan River Basin Water Management Roadmap

The North Saskatchewan River Basin (NSRB) Water Management Roadmap outlines 20 opportunities identified by water managers across the NSRB. The roadmap is a collaboratively shaped, climate-resilient path for the basin built on four strategic drivers: sustainability, ecosystem restoration, water quality, and inclusive governance.

To support this effort, a collaborative group of diverse stakeholders from 39 organizations across the basin gathered to discuss common issues and concerns and identify proactive steps toward ensuring sustainable water management. WaterSMART developed a new basin scale model that couples hydrologic modelling with a decision support tool to allow stakeholders to test various climate, landcover, growth, and development scenarios, and to understand the impacts of these changes on the basin. This model was integrated into a user-friendly map-based interface, and the resultant tool was used by the working group to support the roadmap’s development, facilitating the identification and discussion of water management practices that enhance water security and sustainability.

Through this exciting 16-month effort, stakeholders made new connections to support ongoing collaboration and established a shared understanding of water management and priorities for future work.

Thank you to the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance for convening this work and MacHydro for being a key contributor!