For effective water management it is important to understand the extent to which water resources have already been committed to domestic and economic activity. How much water has been allocated? How much is actually used?
When we can answer those questions, we can calculate natural flows, which are then used to determine the available water supply and its variability. From this we can determine the health of ecosystems and develop management plans for the watershed.
The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance (NSWA) commissioned this study to determine current water allocations and use for each of the major types of water use in each of the twelve subwatersheds in the North Sask River watershed in Alberta.