Brent Paterson, PAg

Head of Irrigation, Agriculture Centre, Government of Alberta, Lethbridge, AB

Currently head of the Irrigation Branch with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in Lethbridge, with key responsibilities to improve irrigation water management, and sustain irrigation development within the 600,000 ha of irrigated land in Alberta. He coordinates applied research, development, and technology transfer programs related to: irrigation management; irrigation risk assessment; water allocation; water quality; and salinity control.

In the 1990s, he chaired a Provincial Steering Committee that completed a comprehensive assessment of agriculture’s impacts on surface and groundwater quality throughout Alberta. He currently chairs a Provincial Steering Committee tasked with developing soil phosphorus limits for all agricultural land in the province to limit agriculture's impact on surface water quality.

He has international experience in programs related to irrigation, land reclamation and water quality in Pakistan, Egypt, India, China and Iran with UNDP, FAO and CIDA.

Abstract

Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative

The Oldman River Basin is located in the semi-arid region of southwestern Alberta, and is home to approximately 200,000 people on farms, in towns and villages and the city of Lethbridge. The majority of Alberta's 600,000 ha of irrigation is located in or adjacent to this basin. The basin also contains numerous industries and intensive livestock operations. As the intensive livestock industry expanded, increasing concerns were being expressed, mainly from urban residents, regarding water quality in the Oldman River. This caused a polarization between the urban and rural residents of the region. The Oldman River Basin Water Quality Initiative was formed to bring together leaders from health, agriculture, environment, education, industry, and government to: assess the quality of water in the Oldman River basin; develop an integrated plan to mitigate existing problems; and promote practice change in both urban and rural areas to protect water quality in the future. An action plan was developed and implemented in 1998. A comprehensive water flow and water quality monitoring program was carried out in 1998 and 1999 at 38 sites that included the main stem of the Oldman River, major tributaries, irrigation return flow streams and wastewater treatment facilities. Samples were analyzed for a variety of chemical parameters, pesticides and bacteria. One urban area in Lethbridge and two agricultural sub-basins were selected to test and demonstrate how beneficial management practices (BMPs) will improve water quality. Results from the Initiative show that while water quality of the Oldman River is generally good to excellent, there is room for improvement. Water quality in the river generally decreases as it flows downstream from the headwaters to the confluence with the Bow River. The quality of many of the tributaries and surface drains that flow into the Oldman River in the settled areas is often poor. Wastewater effluent from towns and the City of Lethbridge is always poor quality. While each of these water sources by themselves do not have a significant impact on the water quality of the Oldman River, their cumulative effects can be quite significant. Wastewater from the city of Lethbridge was responsible for the majority of fecal coliform, phosphorus and nitrogen loading in the Oldman River prior to a major upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant in 1999. Controlling runoff in urban and rural areas is critical for improvement of water quality in irrigation return flow streams, tributaries, and the Oldman River. Significant improvement of the water quality in the Oldman River can be achieved by improving water quality in tributaries, drains, and wastewater treatment systems that flow into the river. The Initiative has been successful in helping both urban and rural stakeholders understand that improving the water quality in the Oldman River basin is a shared responsibility.