Water Resources Use And Management Issues For The Peace Athabasca And Slave River Basins

As part of a survey of residents of northern Alberta river basins, respondents were asked to choose the best and worst examples of various sets of threats to water quality/quantity in the basins as well as best and worst examples of possible management actions. This report analyses the responses to the two sets of best/worst questions, using logistic regression. The analysis produced the following estimates: the probability that each of 11 possible threats to water quantity/quality will be selected as the area of most concern; and the probability of each of 11 possible management actions will be selected as the most effective response to such concerns. The probabilities produced by this analysis are ranked to determine the preferences of northern households and various stakeholder groups within the basin.

The Northern River Basins Study Board will be formulating recommendations covering many areas likely of consequence or interest to basin residents. To assist the Board in this task, a series of projects was initiated to survey the residents on their use of northern river basins waters. Existing information was either not available or as extensive as required. This report details the background work undertaken to devise a survey instrument and strategy to capture for households a representative cross-section of information on water use and resident attitudes toward the water resource. The report also assesses the most effective means for approaching and obtaining information from stakeholder groups. The appendix includes the project terms of reference, a description of how the population stratification method could be applied for the survey, and a draft questionnaire.

Describes the administration of a survey of northern Alberta river basin stakeholders on water management issues. Stakeholders included municipal governments, industries, agricultural associations and service boards, commercial fishermen and recreation business owners, river transportation operators, trappers, and general stakeholders such as environmental groups, recreational clubs, Aboriginal organisations, and professional associations. Information is included on the identification of stakeholder groups, questionnaire design, survey implementation, and data entry and coding. The appendix, forming the bulk of the document, includes copies of questionnaires sent to the various stakeholder groups and details on coding of the computer data files.

The Northern River Basins Study Board will be formulating recommendations covering many areas likely to be of consequence or interest to basin residents. To assist the Board in this task, a series of projects was initiated to survey the residents on their use of northern river basins waters. This report details the efforts undertaken to develop a list of stakeholders that should be approached for input in a workshop setting. These efforts included designing a stakeholder questionnaire, conducting a telephone survey, and analyzing the data. It also reviews the survey results, including the types and membership of stakeholder groups, use of river basins, water management and water use concerns, and preferred location and time of the proposed workshops. The appendix includes a copy of the questionnaire and a directory of stakeholder groups in the survey sample (by category).

Water use, Alberta, Athabasca River Watershed, Peace River Watershed, Slave River Watershed.

Assesses the utilization and quality of the different non- conventional sources of drinking water used by people in the Northern River Basins Study area. Such sources include rain water, melted snow or ice, untreated surface water, dugout water, groundwater, bottled water, and water treated by various point-of-use technologies. The assessment included a literature review on non-conventional drinking water sources, drinking water quality, and the correlation between drinking water and health; interviews with area residents on their non-conventional drinking water practices; collection of field samples of non-conventional drinking water and analysis of samples for various physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters; and research on the effectiveness of some of the portable point-of-use drinking water treatment filters on the market.

Proposes principles and goals to act as a basis for designing the future management of the Peace, Athabasca, and Slave River basins, suggesting what kind of river system is wanted. Reviews models of other inter-jurisdictional bodies for managing resource issues and assesses their applicability for northern Alberta basin management; also discusses the role of science and monitoring of the basin ecosystem, the legislative and jurisdictional issues involved in water resource management, the role of the public and First Nations, and results of a stakeholder survey on the future of basin management. Finally, a new structure is proposed for managing the three basins, involving an inter-jurisdictional board and a separate and independent committee to oversee the stewardship of the management functions. The proposal is designed so that it could fit within the Transboundary Management Agreement for the Mackenzie River. The appendix contains a draft document of an Alberta-Northwest Territories Mackenzie headwaters management agreement.

Presents a synthesis of reports on the environmental and socio-economic characteristics of the Peace, Athabasca, and Slave river basins in northern Alberta. Includes information on basin hydrology, basin inhabitants, physiographic features (geology, soils, vegetation), climate and weather, fish and wildlife, land use (for urban development, agriculture, forestry, resource extraction, tourism, recreation, transportation, fishing, and hunting/trapping), water quality and quantity, and the jurisdictional framework for resource management in the basin area. The final chapter contains an outline of the history of the area and discussion of issues related to sustainable development in the basin area.