Academics
Tricia Stadnyk
Tricia Stadnyk is a Canada Research Chair in hydrologic modelling at the University of Calgary's Schulich School of Engineering, and one of the country’s leading hydrologists specializing in how climate change affects Canada’s water supply. Stadnyk has raised questions around trends of irrigation expansion in Southern Alberta. In an interview with CBC news, Stadnyk said the following about the planned infrastructure project:
“That announcement was made shortly after I moved to this province. And I literally did a bit of a head-scratcher, because, okay - where's the water going to come from? As a hydrologist, I definitely agree that there's always a cycle with the water, but what the science says is that this is one of the regions in the world where we can expect more frequent drought cycles, and longer drought cycles. That begs the question about economic viability, right? How long can farmers and irrigators hold out without that water and still be productive and still have a viable business?” – via CBC news
Stadnyk went on to emphasize the importance of thinking about long-term water use in the province:
“There is general agreement from the climate models and hydrology on this. We will still have to learn to live with less, and be more efficient with our water use at all times of the year … The last thing we would want as a province as a whole is to spend millions of dollars, if not billions, retrofitting for irrigation expansion, only to find that the water isn't there to fill the canals or the pipes.” – via CBC news
John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy is the Director of the Global Water Futures program at the University of Saskatchewan. His research specializes in mountain hydrology, regional water resources, and the impacts of climate change on water. In an April 2025 interview with CBC, he warned of yet another dry summer ahead:
“The snowpacks in the mountain headwaters of the Bow River, the Oldman River, Red Deer River and North Saskatchewan River are generally extremely low, some of the lowest I've ever seen … Our most recent diagnosis using hydrological models suggests that the snowpack is about 80% of the stream flow volume that Calgary sees, so, it's extremely important.” – via CBC news
Lorne Fitch
Lorne Fitch is a retired Alberta Fish and Wildlife biologist and former adjunct professor at the University of Calgary. In May 2024 he published an opinion article in the Calgary Herald criticizing the ongoing irrigation expansion in southern Alberta and urging stakeholders to consider water scarcity in the broader context of climate change:
“When stuck in an irrigation growth paradigm, it doesn’t register that there is a limit to such growth. The proposed result of this ‘study’ is a classic case of ‘running faster and faster to stay in the same place.’ There are already 56 reservoirs in southern Alberta dedicated almost wholly to irrigation. Will building eight more be the answer? ‘Yes,’ says the irrigation lobby, because it’s the perennial answer.” – Lorne Fitch in the Calgary Herald