Alberta government asks people with water licence to move their licences online

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To make things simpler and faster, the government of Alberta is asking thousands of water licence users to move their licences online. The province has a digital system that lets users report on water use and manage their licence through a confidential online tool.

A typical water licence allows the holder to divert water and use water, subject to the terms and conditions of the licence. Both surface and groundwater can be licenced. Regulations can be applied for both business use and individual use. There are about 25,000 water licences in Alberta.

The Alberta government is asking Albertans with water licences issued before November 2021 to move them into the online system by the end of 2024. This will help the province understand how much water is available during a severe drought.

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Alberta’s Digital Regulatory Assurance System is a secure and confidential online platform. Licence holders can submit reports, apply for renewals or amendments, receive email reminders, and track their status.

The information is used by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas to help water managers and users make important decisions on how to manage the drought.

RJ Sigurdson, the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, said in a press release that moving to the digital system will help people manage their water licences.

Sigurdson said the province is facing the risk of severe drought and moving water licences into the digital system will help the government keep track of how much water is available in Alberta.

The digital system is faster and easier for water licence holders to use. It will be easier to access and view licence records. It will also be easier to submit and track incident notifications.

The system will provide easy access to important information that licence holders need to manage their licences.

Moving into a digital system does not change or replace the original licence in any way.

About the author

Alexis Kienlen is a reporter with Glacier Farm Media. She grew up in Saskatoon but now lives in Edmonton. She holds an Honours degree in International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan, a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Concordia University, and a Food Security certificate from Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition to being a journalist, Alexis is also a poet, essayist and fiction writer. She is the author of four books- the most recent being a novel about the BSE crisis called “Mad Cow.”