Background
Drought is a natural phenomenon in Alberta, and multi-year droughts have been recurrent events throughout the province’s history. Climate models predict droughts of greater intensity and longer duration are likely to occur in the future. The impacts of multi-year droughts on the environment, economy, and society are cumulative and can be long-lasting, and they are multiplied every year by management decisions made during previous years.
The Alberta Water Council (AWC) began the Building Resiliency to Multi-Year Drought Project in 2018. The project’s main outcome was the Building Resiliency to Multi-Year Drought in Alberta Guide (the Guide) and included workshop materials to assist in the delivery of the guide’s contents. In 2023-2024, several areas of Alberta experienced severe drought conditions, and Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) held workshops throughout the province using the Guide to support drought management within their watersheds. Over 500 people participated in the six workshops, and they found the Guide to be a valuable resource that supported their drought mitigation efforts. As a result of the recent drought, many elements in the original Guide have changed. For the Guide to remain a valuable resource for continued planning, response and recovery for Albertans during times of drought, it should be revised to reflect these changes and to include any new resources and tools that have been developed.
Project Goals
The goal of this project is for AWC members and partners to renew the Guide and its associated workshop materials by updating any out-of-date information and including any new information, resources, or tools that have been developed since the original release of the Guide in early 2021, including lessons learned from the 2023-2024 drought.
The project’s outcomes are expected to support multi-year drought resiliency in Alberta by bringing together updated information, tools, and resources as a reference for communities before, during, and after drought.
The project is expected to be finished in early 2027.
Please see the terms of reference or contact Katrina Calon at [email protected] for more information.