This study was undertaken on behalf of the Northern River Basins Study in response to one of the 16 questions posed by the Study Board at the outset of the study. This question is who are the stakeholders and what are the consumptive and non-consumptive uses of water in the Peace, Athabasca and Slave river basins? This report attempts to answer this question using the results of surveys conducted with stakeholders and a random sample of households in the northern river basins. The information contained in this report is based on completed questionnaires from 718 households (53 percent response rate), and from 183 of 602 stakeholder groups (30 percent
response). The results of the surveys are summarized below for individual stakeholder groups.
General Public
The key stakeholders are the residents of the Peace, Athabasca and Slave river basins. In 1991 there were 268,690 people living in the basins, with about 3,000 of these people living in the NWT. The main consumptive use of water for this group is drinking water. While 55 percent of basin residents obtain their drinking water supplies from municipal water systems and 31 percent use groundwater from wells, most of the remainder use water from surface-water sources including rivers, lakes and dug-outs. Between 40 and 55 percent of households that rely on surface water sources employ some form of water treatment. About 10 percent of people who use river water claim that this water has acquired a chlorine taste during the past 10 years, even though none of them use chorine as a water treatment method.
About 72 percent of basin households participate in one or more types of water-based recreation. Total recreational activity amounts to about 1.80 million trips per year. About 34 percent of households use sites along the mainstems of the major rivers in the basin, including the Athabasca and Peace rivers. These sites account for 21 percent of trips to the three sites most preferred by basin residents. About 10 percent of households that participate in water-based recreation believe that the mainstems of the river have become dirtier over the last 10 years.
About 54 percent of basin households go fishing and, on average, they catch 23.3 kilograms of fish per year. Walleye and northern pike account for 25 percent of the total catch. Just over one-third of fishermen eat all or part of their catch and average consumption is 13.6 kilograms per year, although much lower consumption is reported in the Smoky/Wapiti area. About 14 percent of households that participate in water-based recreation have observed various changes in fish populations over the last 10 years. These changes include reduced fish populations, smaller fish, more disfigurations and growths, and an oily taste to the fish
Municipal and Local Government
Some 321 licences for 28,800 acre-feet of water per year have been issued to municipal and local governments in Alberta for purposes of domestic consumption This use accounts for nine percent of licenced water withdrawals on the Athabasca River and 15 percent of withdrawals from the Peace River. Only three percent of local and municipal governments that responded to the survey believe that their treated drinking water does not meeting drinking water standards. Thirty-six percent of water plant operators believe that the quality of raw water supplies is the most important factor affecting the quality of treated water. About half of plant operators feel that the quality or quantity of their raw water supplies has deteriorated over the last 10 years. About 80 percent of municipal and local governments treat their sewage before release to surface water sources and 54 percent of these use only primary sewage treatment. About 31 percent of households that obtain drinking water from municipal treatment plants are concerned about the quality of this water and 28 percent use some form of additional treatment, usually filtration.
Agriculture
There are about 13,900 farms in the study area. About 26 percent raise livestock while 29 percent produce grains or oilseeds and 41 percent are mixed farmers. The remainder are specialty farms. Farms in the NRBS account for about 17 percent of Alberta cattle production. Watering of livestock and irrigation are the main uses of water. A total of 194 irrigation water licences for 7144 acre-feet of water have been issued in the Alberta portion of the basin. Irrigation accounts for two percent of water withdrawn from the mainstem of the Peace River. About 85 percent of grain and oilseed farms use herbicides. These farms are located mainly in the Peace River drainage above the Town of Peace River. Over 80 percent of these farms also use fertilizers. About 85 percent of livestock operations spread their manure onto their land.
Industrial Water Users
Industry is the biggest consumer of water in the region. Licences totaling 430,600 acre-feet of water have been issued for industrial purposes and 52 percent of this is from the Athabasca River mainstem and eight percent is from the Peace River. Water use practices vary by industry. Companies in the forest sector use between 40 and 80 percent of their allocations, recycle 40 percent and discharge about 60 percent of what they withdraw. In comparison, the majority of oilfield injection companies use more than 60 percent of their licence, recycle about 20 percent and return about 20 percent back to surface-water sources. Less than 10 percent of companies have seen any changes in water quality or quantity in the last 10 years. Companies in the oil and gas sector expect their need for water to decline in the next 10 years, while some forestry operations expect their needs to grow.
Commercial Recreation Companies, Trappers, Commercial Fishermen and River Transportation
Various companies and individuals are directly or indirectly dependent on water resources in the basins for their livelihood. Some of the 51 commercial recreation companies in the basin offer river tours, especially on the Peace and Clearwater rivers, and they are very concerned about water 1 quality and quantity. Although the other types of operations may not directly use northern rivers, any change in water quality or fisheries can affect the tourist potential of the region and affect their businesses. About 50,000 people per year use the services of commercial recreation operations in the basin, including one-quarter of all non-resident visitors to the area.
The commercial fish harvest from lakes in the NRBS area amounts to about 1.4 million kilograms per year. This represents about two-thirds of the total Alberta commercial fish harvest. No commercial fishing occurs in the mainstems of the Peace, Athabasca or Slave rivers. There are about 400 active commercial fishermen in the basin, and they are not currently concerned about water quality in the basin. However, they believe that contaminated fish from river mainstems may move into lakes and affect commercial fish harvests in the future. Commercial fishermen eat part of their catch: about 48 kilograms of fish per year.
There are about 2,400 active trappers in the NRBS area and they produce about $1.3 million in furs per year, mostly beaver, muskrat and coyotes. About one-quarter of these people trap within 10 kilometres of the river mainstems. In most parts of the basin, trapping along the mainstems of the river accounts for less than 10 percent of animals trapped. However, more than 50 percent of the harvest in the Peace-Athabasca Delta comes from river channels. Only 40 percent of trappers have observed a decline in furbearer populations in recent years, and part of this is due to natural cycles.
The mainstem of the Athabasca River is still used as a transportation route, with volumes of freight depending on population growth and economic activity in the Peace-Athabasca Delta.
Stakeholder Issues and Concerns
The surveys provided an opportunity to explore the water management issues and concerns of importance to basin residents and stakeholders.
Households in the basin generally believe that water quality is a problem in the basin. Only 16 percent agree completely or partially with a questionnaire statement that water quality is “not really a major issue at the moment”. In contrast, 38 percent agree with the statement that “pollution of northern rivers is only a concern in a few locations”, while 75 percent agree that “contamination of northern rivers is a major problem”.
Nearly 40 percent of households throughout the basin see pulp mills as the most important factor affecting water quality in the basin. Most stakeholder groups also believe that pulp mills are the prime factor affecting river health. Other major factors of concern to households, in order of importance, include municipal sewage, other industries, logging, and agriculture. In most cases, northern residents feel that these activities have adversely affected fish populations and water quality by introducing contaminants and pollutants into northern rivers. About two-thirds of households concerned about these factors believe that they or members of their household have been directly affected. While impacts on drinking water and human health are of some concern, more households are worried about the effects that these activities are having on fishing and other recreational activities in the basin. In most cases, households feel that increased regulation should be used to better control activities that affect water quality and quantity. About 75 percent of households and 66 percent of basin stakeholders disagree with the statement that “existing water management regulations are interfering with economic development in the basin”.
Nearly 55 percent of households throughout the northern river basins propose that water quality be used to assess river health, with measurements being taken on a monthly basis. In describing future monitoring, 40 percent prefer that government be responsible for monitoring water quality while 30 percent want an independent agency to do the job. Only three percent feel that industry should be responsible for monitoring. However, nearly half of households believe that industry should pay for water-quality monitoring.
Households and stakeholders were give the opportunity to list up to three recommendations that they feel should be made by the NRBS Board. Sixty percent of households responded to this question. The most common recommendation, made by 23 percent of households who responded to this question, is that the NRBS Board recommend that effluent loads be reduced. Another 21 percent suggest that industrial activities be better monitored while 17 percent want the NRBS Board to recommend better enforcement of pollution laws. Twelve percent of households want the Board to recommend that certain activities, such as logging and the operations of dams, be stopped or better controlled. While only four percent of households think that the NRBS Board should recommend the development of a basin management plan, 80 percent of households and 75 percent of stakeholders agree with a statement that “no further effluent discharges be allowed until a basin management plan has been completed”. The results of the household survey suggest that basin residents want the NRBS Board to make recommendations that will act quickly to resolve current problems.
Future Management of the Basin
In the survey, northern households and stakeholder groups were also asked whether they supported the idea of establishing some sort of ongoing, intergovernmental and stakeholder committee responsible for the protection and use of the northern river basins. The survey included several questions about the functions of such a committee.
Between 70 and 80 percent of households in all regions within the basin support the establishment of a management, committee. Some of the stakeholder groups are less supportive of this idea. More than 75 percent of households believe that a committee should be responsible for providing advice to the federal, provincial and territorial governments, coordinating and conducting research, preparing a basin management plan, developing regulations, developing education programs, and overseeing enforcement. In contrast, only 51 percent feel that the committee should issue licences or permits. Industrial stakeholders believe that the committee should only have an advisory, research and education role and should not be responsible for regulatory functions.
Over 82 percent of households are willing to participate on the committee, either as a committee member or as formal or informal advisors. In contrast, less than 37 percent of industrial water users, municipal and local governments, and agricultural groups are willing to participate on the committee.