Water in a Changing Climate: Understanding & Adapting at the Basin Scale

Climate change has been identified as a major influence on basin water balances. However, land use and water use practices have also been identified as factors. This case study was completed to better understand changes occurring to the water balance of a major basin in Alberta. The Beaver River Basin is located in east central Alberta. Evidence indicates that the hydrology changed around the mid-1970s. To investigate this further, data from regional hydrometric and meteorological stations were assessed along with water well hydrographs and historical satellite images. A significant correlation was found to exist with a climate phenomenon known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Although the correlation appeared strong, changes to the land use also seemed to have an effect. Use of the local water resources was found to be of minor significance.