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Watersheds have the power to unite us

What exactly is a watershed? For the answer to this question, I turned to David Hill, program director with the Alberta Water Research Institute.
The Bow River near Lake Louise sends water to Hudson Bay via the Saskatchewan River system.
The Bow River near Lake Louise sends water to Hudson Bay via the Saskatchewan River system.

What exactly is a watershed? For the answer to this question, I turned to David Hill, program director with the Alberta Water Research Institute.

“A watershed is a place that people, critters, plants and businesses, all share and are interlinked and interconnected,” he said.

One of the aspects Hill feels we don’t often think about is that water always flows downhill. He recounts watching water suddenly appear in his yard as snowmelt caused his sump pump to engage. He followed the water’s path as it made its way to the curb and gutter to begin its journey back to the North Saskatchewan River.

“Thank goodness gravity works and water does flow downhill. It doesn’t matter where it lands, it’s going down. So whatever we do, in one way or another is going to impact somebody who lives downstream of us.”

Hill said that once we have awareness that we live in a watershed and our actions impact everyone in the watershed, we can begin to think differently about various activities on the landscape.

“Maybe we can have a conversation about what our interests are, the values that we share and then, we can make individual decisions that are in our collective interests.”

Hill also talks about how water ignores political boundaries and yet is political. He contends that water can be a source of democratic cooperation or a cause for hostility. With watersheds connecting municipalities, provinces and countries, it offers a natural shared interest.

“I think finding that shared interest is very important,” he said.

In Alberta’s case, the Water For Life Strategy sets the tone.

“Alberta’s water strategy recognizes the need for people to come together around water issues. It recognizes the need for people to be engaged,” he said.

Passionate emotions and political positions show up quite quickly in all discussions about water, he said. That fact makes the discussions interesting, but also unruly at times and ineffective. Albertans needed a way to come together around water issues and get some forward momentum. He says they got it in the Strategy.

“Water for Life at its heart talks about engaging the public in figuring out ways to do more with what we have and at the same time to do it more sustainable.”

Hill adds that with the right tools and opportunities, people can solve any issue.

“The amount of creativity that people can bring to an issue is really quite surprising,” Hill said.


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