North Saskatchewan Watershed
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION INTRODUCTION

Source waters in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed consist of wetlands, sloughs, lakes, rivers and groundwater aquifers. These provide for our drinking water and support agriculture, forestry, oil and gas, and other manufacturing industries. Source water is an important resource for ensuring healthy, functioning ecosystems and maintaining cultural assets. Concerns about the quality and quantity of these waters moved volunteers from municipal and First Nation governments to begin meeting in 2004 with regulators and technical experts under the leadership of Saskatchewan Watershed Authority to develop a Source Water Protection Plan. Meetings in local communities provided the opportunity for input to define those concerns and develop recommendations and actions to address them. A draft of the plan, completed in January, 2008, was circulated for review with amendments finalized in June. Implementation of the 144 key actions will begin in the fall of 2008. The plan is a living document that will be able to adapt and respond to emerging issues through the collaborative and integrative work of the North Saskatchewan River Basin Council. Source water protection is a long term initiative that will require continued involvement of resident volunteers as well as support from Municipal, Provincial, First Nation and Federal governments.

Our Watershed

Within Saskatchewan, the North Saskatchewan River watershed occupies 41,000 square kilometres. It stretches from Lloydminster in the west to beyond Prince Albert in the east, from Luseland in the south almost to Big River in the north. There are two major river systems, many lakes and significant groundwater resources within the basin. The North Saskatchewan River itself runs from the bountiful head waters of the Columbia ice fields in the Rocky Mountains through the industrial heartland of Alberta before delivering a robust flow into Saskatchewan. The Battle River, dependent on run-off and groundwater collected as it meanders through central Alberta, brings a more modest flow.

The basin includes a diversity of ecosystems including short grass prairie, aspen parkland and boreal forest, along with the full scope of human enterprise that our natural resources can support. The growing population of 116,500 people shares the cities of Lloydminster, North Battleford and Prince Albert as well as 100 towns and villages, 51 rural municipalities and 29 First Nations.