WC136 MayJune 2024 - Magazine - Page 32
AQUIFERS
Prince Edward Island
While other provinces may use terms like open data, Prince
Edward Island takes the concept of making information
available, searchable, and easily understood to heart,
providing a friendly looking, graphical dashboard to anybody
hunting for water-related information.
Katie Cudmore, a senior communications officer for the
provincial government’s Executive Council Office and its
Environment, Energy, and Climate Action department,
explained that “water usage data are important components in
water management, and our department puts great efforts toTop Non-Municipal Water Takers in Prince Edward Island (2023)
Cavendish Farms
Ocean Trout Farms Inc
Dover Fish Hatchery
AquaBoun~Canada
Total Litres Taken
(Million Imperial Gallon)
Prince Edward Aqua Farms
Center for Aquaculture Technologies Canada(Victoria)
Albany Beef Plant
Novartis Animal Health Canada
Aqua Health
Beach Point Processing Co.
Source: PEI Water Registry
32
0
50
100
150
WATER C AN ADA • M AY/JUNE 2024
200
250
300
wards the collection of water usage and
other water extraction related data.”
There are also options that allow
visitors to see information related to
provincial data from sections entitled Suspended Sediment Monitors,
Summary Drinking Water Results, and
Tracking Anoxic Events. The website is
also searchable by broader themes such
as Water Quantity, Water Quality, and
Water Reports.
For those who need the actual figures, the Open Data tab lists
datasets available for downloading and
analyzing. For example, looking at the
heaviest commercial users of water in
the province, agriculture (potatoes) and
aquaculture operations top the list.
Newfoundland
The Government of Newfoundland
and Labrador offers some information
about water usage to the public.
As it explains, “a registry of water
rights including information on licensees, descriptions of
associated water rights, locations and other details including
the maximum allowable annual water withdrawal limits, is
available online. Specific details pertaining to each licence,
including the maximum allowable annual water withdrawal
volume, is included in their individual licence as listed on the
departmental website.”
The registry lists information such as file numbers, holder
name, water body, purpose and expiry date, location of project and expiry date of the licence, but no information about
water volumes being assigned.
Licences can also be viewed via a map of the province.
Pinned locations have pop-ups that provide the same basic
information found in the registry.
As the government explained, “in Newfoundland and
Labrador, water withdrawals for commercial, industrial and
other relevant purposes, that are not covered under any other
existing agreement, are required to have a water-use licence
under the Water Resources Act. Licensees are required to
report annual usage amounts to the provincial government for
monitoring and compliance purposes. This information is not
readily available to the general public but can be obtained under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.”
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia has a number of tools available online for people
interested in surface-water quality and monitoring. When it
comes to usage allocations, however, the provincial website
just explains who needs to apply for approval and how to
submit the applications.
As Kristin Matthews, communications advisor for the
Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate
Change, explains. “ECC approval is required for withdrawals
of more than 23,000 litres per day.”
Upon request, ECC provided Water Canada with a list of
some of the organizations that have the highest maximum
water-usage permits in the province (although as with other
provinces, the figures don’t indicate actual usage, just total
permitted usage).
The province broke the data into surface water and ground
water usage. Municipalities and utilities were prevalent but
also named on the groundwater withdrawal list were Acadian
University, The Shaw Group Ltd. (which builds homes and
manufactures building materials such as brick and pre-cast
concrete products) and the Membertou Development Corporation (which is business development arm of the Membertou
First Nation). Utilities and municipalities also took up most
of the spots on the surface-water withdrawal list although
one business, Port Hawkesbury Paper GP Limited, was also
included.
