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A timeline of Alberta's water
1893
Alberta’s first hydro-power generator, a 280-horsepower
water wheel, is built on the Bow River in Calgary.
1894
Alberta adopts the “First in time, first in right”
policy, giving those with the oldest water licences priority
to water. It still exists today.
1900
A 184-kilometre canal opens thousands of hectares of land
to colonization near Lethbridge. It’s Alberta's first
successful, large-scale irrigation project.
1903
Edmonton Water and Light Company constructs the city’s
first water-treatment plant. The company, now Epcor, was founded
in 1891.
1909
Canada and the U.S. sign the Boundary Waters Treaty, which
includes details on sharing the St. Mary and Milk rivers and
their tributaries.
1911
Calgary Power, now TransAlta, builds its first hydro plant
at Horseshoe Falls west of Calgary.
1915
Rain and snowmelt cause the North Saskatchewan River to flood
Edmonton, as well as Prince Albert in Saskatchewan.
1919
Alberta passes the Irrigation Districts Act, giving landowners
the right to organize co-operatives that can issue bonds for
the construction of large-scale irrigation projects.
1920
McGregor Lake Dam, the oldest provincially owned dam, is built
near Vulcan. Extensively rebuilt in 1952, it’s currently
undergoing significant repairs.
1921
Disputes over the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty leads to the
International Joint Commission clarifying the rules around
the St. Mary and Milk rivers.
1932
Calgary builds the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant.
It’s upgraded in the 1980s and 1990s.
1933
Calgary’s Glenmore Dam, reservoir and treatment plant
opens.
1951
St. Mary Dam opens near Lethbridge. Postwar irrigation projects
bring a boom to the city.
1960
Calgary’s Fish Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is constructed
in 1960 and expanded in 1980.
1969
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Canada sign the Master
Agreement on Apportionment, a formula for sharing eastward
flowing rivers and creeks.
1972
TransAlta’s Bighorn Dam opens, creating Alberta’s
largest artificial lake, Abraham Lake, near Nordegg.
1972
Calgary builds the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant. It’s
expanded in 1984.
1976
E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant opens in Edmonton.
1980
Calgary’s Fish Creek Sewage Treatment Plant opens after
a $23 million expansion.
1981
A thunderstorm drops 56 mm of rain on Edmonton in less than
three hours, causing severe flooding. Four people die.
1986
July flooding in central Alberta and Edmonton damages 1,500
homes, destroys crops and causes overflows in municipal sewer
systems. One person dies.
1991
The controversial Oldman River dam near Pincher Creek opens.
It’s the largest provincially owned dam in Alberta at
76 metres high and 3,070 metres long.
1995
Flooding in southern Alberta causes $100 million in damage.
1997
Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, N.W.T., the Yukon and Canada
sign the Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master
Agreement.
1998
A five-year federal and provincial study on water quality
is released, finding significant evidence that agricultural
practices are contributing to the degradation of water in
Alberta.
1999
The province passes the Alberta Water Act, overhauling a policy
that’s more than 60 years old.
2003
Alberta releases a draft of Water for Life: Alberta’s
Strategy for Sustainability.
2003
Little Bow River Dam near Champion is completed, making it
the newest provincially owned dam.
2005
Heavy rain for 36 hours causes rivers across the province
to overflow their banks. Thousands are evacuated in southern
Alberta and the province pays out more than $162 million in
disaster claims.
2006
Alberta decides to stop issuing new water-use licences for
three southern Alberta rivers – the Bow, Oldman and
South Saskatchewan – in an effort to reduce water consumption.
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