On March 18, 2015, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Alberta signed a Mackenzie River Basin Bilateral Water Management Agreement ("NWT/Alberta Water Agreement"). The NWT/Alberta Water Agreement commits both governments to cooperatively manage water resources in the Mackenzie River Basin, one of the longest and largest river systems in Canada.
The NWT/Alberta Water Agreement is the second bilateral water management agreement completed by the NWT under the 1997 Mackenzie River Basin Transboundary Waters Master Agreement ("Master Agreement"). The first bilateral water management agreement, the Yukon-Northwest Territories Transboundary Water Management Agreement was concluded in 2002. British Columbia and Saskatchewan are also parties to the Master Agreement but have yet to complete bilateral water management agreements with the Northwest Territories. There will be a total of seven bilateral water management agreements once all are negotiated and signed.
Under the NWT/Alberta Bilateral Agreement, the Northwest Territories and Alberta agree to establish and implement a framework to achieve the principles of the Master Agreement. Under the Master Agreement, each party has the right to use the shared water resources of the Mackenzie River Basin within its jurisdiction provided such use does not unreasonably harm the aquatic ecosystem in any other jurisdiction. The Master Agreement requires the parties to manage water resources in a sustainable manner for present and future generations and to resolve issues cooperatively and harmoniously.
The NWT/Alberta Water Agreement provides for an adaptive management approach to water management based on scientific monitoring. The NWT/Alberta Water Agreement will result in improved monitoring and reporting of upstream effects from development. The NWT/Alberta Water Agreement also establishes ecosystem objectives that address water consumption, quality, quantity and flow. The technical details related to objective setting, monitoring and management actions are found in the Appendices of the NWT/Alberta Water Agreement. This bilateral Agreement is an important step forward in Mackenzie River Basin management.
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