CWRA Weekly News November 20 2016

Promoting Effective Water Management
CWRA is a national organization of individuals and organizations from the public, private and academic sectors that are committed to raise awareness of the value of water and to promote responsible and effective water resource management in Canada.

President's Message
Three Days Left to Register! CANCID Webinar: A Treatment Method to Protect Alberta's Irrigation Pipelines from Invasive Dreissenid sp. Mussels
CWRA Saskatchewan Webinar Series #2 Avoiding Water Conflict – Apportionment of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers
CWRA Manitoba Luncheon
Webinar Recording: CWRA Alberta Lunch 'n Learn Webinar Series Seminar 1
Webinar Recording: Global Water Futures: Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change
Still A Few Spots Left!
2017 Water Roundtable in Ottawa
Abstracts are now being accepted for Lethbridge 2017 Annual Conference
The Most Talked About Tweets This Week

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President's Message

They say all good things must come to an end. This is the last week that Jody Rutledge will be with us. Her ideas and energy have been a huge boost to CWRA and for this we are grateful. Not only was Jody an effective CWRA staff member, she became part of the CWRA family and while we will miss her on staff, we know she will remain connected through branch activities. We are working on transitioning Jody’s role with the support of Rick Ross, Executive Director. We wish Jody well in her new career.

Pres Dave

Well, I couldn't go without having my say now could I? Anyone who knows me will understand this :) The past three and a half years have been filled with countless opportunities to learn and grow along with so many great events and countless friendships. These are just some of the reasons CWRA remains such a respected organization. The strength lies in CWRA's ability to bring like-minded water professionals together while creating a place for people to grow their professional and personal networks. As CWRA moves forward and looks to influence the future of water resources management in Canada, these friendships and professional relationships will only help to strengthen these efforts. As I move onto a new challenge, I look forward to staying involved and contributing to the future of CWRA.

Jody
P.S. I wanted to include a group photo of a few of the Executive, however, I couldn't find one. So I made it up! Thanks to Les 7 Doigts de la main and Valerie Ouellet at the 2016 Annual CWRA Conference in Montreal for supplying the foundation of the photo and to Luc Roy for taking the original photo. I have to say Dave's legs look pretty good though, don't they!? (L-R:Valerie Ouellet, Sean Douglas, Ute Holweger, Jody Rutledge, Dave Murray, Rick Ross, Ed Dean).

Three Days Left to Register!
CANCID Webinar: A Treatment Method to Protect Alberta's Irrigation Pipelines from Invasive Dreissenid sp. Mussels

Alberta is home to 13 irrigation districts, approximately 8000 km of canals and pipelines that are worth an estimated $3.5B and distribute water to irrigated land, wetlands and several communities. Irrigation is supplied by storage reservoirs, several of which are also used for recreational boating and angling. These activities put them at risk of invasive mussels introduced by watercraft. Clogged or fouled pipelines would present a major challenge for irrigation due to reduced water conveyance and increased maintenance costs.
The Government of Alberta recognizes that treatment must be carefully considered. Challenges include limited control options, the unique nature of Alberta’s irrigation conveyance systems, and meeting the needs of water users.
In partnership with Alberta’s irrigation districts, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is focusing research efforts on potash treatment due to success in other jurisdictions and how to ensure a lethal dose is reached while maintaining water supply to crops. Environmental fate and transport of potash must also be considered. Such a proactive approach will ensure that the necessary tools and processes are developed and can be used if dreissenid mussels are introduced to southern Alberta’s irrigation systems.

Register here.

CANCID, The Canadian National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage is a permanent committee of CWRA and is the National Committee for Canada of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). CANCID activities aim to stimulate and promote research, development and application of technology among those individuals and organizations in Canada who are interested in irrigation, drainage, and flood control in rural areas.

CWRA Saskatchewan Webinar Series #2
Avoiding Water Conflict – Apportionment of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers

The apportionment of the waters of the St. Mary and Milk Rivers is governed by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between Great Britain and the United States. The computation and water division procedure has evolved over time and was created after conflict arose between Canada and US in the late 1800’s. This presentation will present some of the history leading to the current practice of apportioning of these waters.

Bruce Davison (inset), Head, Boundary Waters Engineering Unit, North & West National Hydrological Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada will present. Since 2004, he has worked as a hydrologist and water resources engineer with Environment and Climate Change Canada in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Join us for this webinar or get a discounted rate to participate in the entire series. Share with your colleagues! Details are provided on the CWRA website under Saskatchewan Branch News.

Registration rates for the series are greatly reduced for CWRA members. Please make your payment at least a few days before the first presentation to give our organizers time to register you.

CWRA Manitoba Luncheon

Delta Marsh is an immense wetland along the southern coast of Lake Manitoba, with a storied history of ecological productivity and anthropologic use for over a century. Over the past 50 years, marsh deterioration has led to diminished water quality and decreases in the abundance of native species. The 'Restoring the Tradition' project was initiated in 2013, with the goal of restoring the ecological productivity of Delta Marsh.

Click here to register.

Webinar Recording: CWRA Alberta Lunch 'n Learn Webinar Series Seminar 1

View it at: https://youtu.be/eAse1bNR2Xs

Shelley Morris, Team Lead, Groundwater, Water Supply and Soil Contamination Alberta Environment and Parks.
This presentation features a 30 minute discussion on how near-real water supply data is acquired from the field monitoring stations and shared with the public Alberta River Basins webpage and phone app.
Other data sets used in the department and where they can be found are also discussed. Q&A section follows.

Webinar Recording: Global Water Futures: Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change

View it here: https://youtu.be/SJU2b4gXWhY

In partnership with CSHS, CWRA presents this important webinar. The University of Saskatchewan’s Global Water Futures overarching goal is to deliver risk management solutions—informed by leading-edge water science and supported by innovative decision-making tools—to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where global warming is changing landscapes, ecosystems, and the water environment.

The information in this webinar is presented by Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security and director of the University of Saskatchewan Global Institute for Water Security, who leads the CFREF-funded program. “No institution nationally or internationally has assembled such a large-scale and multi-disciplinary water research initiative of this kind,” said Wheater.

Still A Few Spots Left!
Kananaskis Short Course on Principles of Hydrology

January 10 - 21, 2017 Kananaskis Valley, Alberta

This ten-day field course examines the physical principles and processes that govern hydrology, with special reference to Canadian conditions. The deadline to register is December 1, 2016. Space is limited and fills up every year, so sign up early to guarantee your spot.

2017 Water Roundtable in Ottawa

Join the Canadian Water Resources Association and Canadian Society for Hydrological Sciences in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada when we explore the current resources, challenges and opportunities in water management for both flooding and droughts with Canadian and international perspectives.

Register Here

Speakers List include representatives from EPCOR Water and Climate Security at the United Nations, FloodNET, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Public Safety Canada and more!

Choose between Gold, Silver or Bronze Sponsorship Opportunities and access different opportunities to promote your company. Click here for full details or email us at ottawa2017@cwra.org for details.

Stay tuned to the CWRA Twitter account to get up-to-the-minute announcements or check the CWRA website often. Topics and speakers will also be announced.

Abstracts are now being accepted for Lethbridge 2017 Annual Conference

The 2017 Conference will explore how water has been exploited, managed, protected, and shared as it crosses jurisdictional boundaries in North America. The program will address the best (and worst) approaches and solutions to interjurisdictional water management on the continent, with a view to influencing future public policy.
When submitting an abstract, you will be requested to indicate your choice of theme and sub-theme, and to specify your preference for either an oral or a poster presentation, or a Pecha Kucha style concise presentation. Abstract submission takes place between October 15, 2016 and January 15, 2017.

@CWRA_Flows showcases up to the minute water news and events from across Canada and around the world. Not a Twitter User? No problem! Just go to the CWRA homepage and scroll through the Twitter feed. No need for an account and you can access all the great news and event information that is found on our Twitter page.

The Most Talked About Tweets This Week

Climate change is accelerating hydrology at an even faster pace than earlier thought, making for rapid-fire change via The Manitoba Cooperator

Russia Lake Baikal Invaded by Toxic Algal blooms a World Heritage site home to 3700 species half found nowhere else via New York Times

Canadian Refinery to recycle its water with GE new technologies via Hydrocarbon Pricing

Ground movement to blame for oil spill into North Saskatchewan River: Husky Energy via Global News

“Integrated protection” — combines both local protection and the degree of upland protection for each river reach via World Wildlife Fund