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2024 Report on water levels (Sample)

All data and information presented in this report are derived from surveys, site visits, and interviews conducted with member co-ops of the Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops (Water Federation) and certain other non-affiliated water co-ops.

Study of Alberta Rural Water Co-ops
Final Report
March 31, 2025

Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops
Submitted to Tyrell Ludwig, Director
Rural Utilities Section of the Ministry of Affordability and Utilities

Version 4.0 – April 14, 2025

Disclaimer
All data and information presented in this report are derived from surveys, site visits, and interviews conducted with member co-ops of the Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops (Water Federation) and certain other non-affiliated water co-ops. The conclusions and insights provided are based on verbal responses and firsthand data collected during these engagements. As such, the data should be interpreted within the context of survey results and on-site observations, which collectively offer an overview of the current state and challenges faced by rural water co-ops in Alberta.

To maintain the confidentiality of participating water co-ops, any identifiable information pertaining to specific co-ops has been excluded from this report. Consequently, the findings and data presented reflect general trends and characteristics of rural water co-ops in Alberta, rather than detailing individual co-op circumstances.

Acknowledgements
We acknowledge that this report is prepared on the traditional territories of the Indigenous Peoples of Alberta. These lands have been home to diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities for generations, who continue to maintain deep connections to the land and water.

The authors recognize the contributions of individuals and organizations that made this study possible. We are grateful to the participating water co-operatives, both Water Federation members and non-members, for their time and valuable insights.

This report was compiled by the Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-operatives Ltd. (Water Federation) team that led the development of the current methodology and conducted all data analysis. Special thanks to Chris Hancock, Owen Bennett, and Daniel Perri for the hundreds of hours they invested to undertake this study.

Interviews were conducted with key government stakeholders, including Alberta Health Services, Alberta Environment and Parks, and Alberta Rural Utilities. We thank them for their support and contributions.

Finally, this study and report were generously supported by a financial grant from Rural Utilities, a division of the Ministry of Affordability and Utilities. This work would not have been possible without this support from the Alberta Government.

Executive Summary – 1
1. Introduction – 4
1.1. Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops Ltd. – 5

2. Rural Water in Alberta – 6
2.1. The Alberta Rural Water Co-op Population – 6
2.2. Role of Water Co-ops in Rural Alberta – 8
2.3. Alberta’s Water Supply – 10
2.4. Water Governance and Regulation – 12

3. Water Co-op Characteristics – 15
3.1. Survey Participation – 15
3.2. Geographic Location of Co-ops – 16
3.3. Water Use – 17
3.4. Water Treatment – 18
3.5. Governance and Operations – 20
3.6. System Size – 20
3.7. Life Cycle of a Water Co-op – 23

4. The Current Situation for Alberta Water Co-ops – 26
4.1. Financial Health of Alberta Water Co-ops – 26
4.2. Organizational Health – 30
4.3. Government Involvement in Rural Water – 32

5. Qualitative Input to the Study – 35
5.1. Issues Identified by the Study Participants – 35
5.2. Innovations Identified by the Study Participants – 39
5.3. Government’s Perspective on Rural Water Co-op Issues – 42

6. Conclusions and Recommendations – 46
6.1. Summary of Conclusions and Findings – 46
6.2. Recommendations – 48
6.3. Next Steps – 50

7. Bibliography – 52

Appendices

Appendix A: Rural Water Study Project Planning – 55
Appendix B: Study Terms of Reference – 57
Appendix C: The Survey Questionnaire – 59
Appendix D: Details of TF-IDF Issue Analysis – 64

List of Figures

Figure 1: Albertan Water Co-op Well Map – 7
Figure 2: Major River Basins in Alberta – 11
Figure 3: Map of Alberta Water Co-op Locations – 16
Figure 4: Distribution of Total Pipe Length per Co-op – 22
Figure 5: Number of Connections per Co-op – 22
Figure 6: Average Cost per m³ by Water Usage – 27
Figure 7: Cost per m³ vs Yearly Volume of Water – 28
Figure 8: Cost per m³ vs Number of Connections – 29
Figure 10: Health Score vs Number of Connections – 32
Figure 11: Key Issues Raised by Study Participants – 36
Figure 12: Issues by Prevalence for Agricultural Water Co-ops – 38
Figure 13: Issues by Prevalence for Residential Water Co-ops – 38
Figure 14: Electronic Monitoring and Reporting System #1 – 40
Figure 15: Electronic Monitoring and Reporting System #2 – 40
Figure 16: Emergency Power Generator – 41
Figure 17: Pump Truck Access with Storz Connection (Fire Protection) – 41
Figure 18: Water Federation 2024 Study Project Map – 55

List of Tables

Table 1: Alberta's Water Co-ops by River Basin – 12
Table 2: Number of Water Co-ops Relative to Geographical Area – 17
Table 3: Residential vs Agricultural Water Use – 18
Table 4: Distribution of Co-op Primary Treatment Types – 19
Table 5: Water Cost for Select Alberta Municipalities – 27
Table 6: Co-op Health Score – 31
Table 7: Water Federation 2024 Study In-Person Site Visits – 56

Executive Summary

The Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops (the Water Federation), with the support of the Alberta Government is embarking on a multi-year Rural Water Program to directly tackle issues and opportunities faced by rural communities related to safe, reliable and affordable access to water. This Study and report are intended to lay the groundwork for this Rural Water Program by:
• filling existing information gaps related to the size and characteristics of the rural water co-ops,
• identifying the most important issues faced by these organizations,
• identifying existing best practices and innovations, and
• identifying areas requiring support.

This Study aims to inform the proposed Rural Water Program by clarifying how the Water Federation or the Government can best develop policy and programs to support rural Albertans in the area of water co-ops.

Characteristics of the Rural Water Co-op Community

There were 153 water co-ops that could be identified for the study and contacted. It is likely that there are up to 170 in total but there is no single registration of water co-ops in Alberta so it is difficult to be exhaustive. These 153 identified co-ops support about 9200 water connections representing 30,000 to 40,000 Albertans served.

In contrast to other rural utility co-ops like gas and electricity, the community of rural water co-ops is diverse and varied. Therefore, programs developed to serve the industry need to be flexible to assist each co-op or each “class” of co-ops in a way that is helpful.
• 77% of water co-ops are in Southern Alberta in the Calgary area or further south.
• 77% of water co-ops are serving residential markets while the other 23% are focused on agricultural markets.
• The majority of water co-ops do not engage in sophisticated water treatment technology.
• Over 70% of the water co-ops studied have less that 20 customers and less than 10 km of pipe.
• About 15% of the study group are very large water co-ops with between 100 and 1500 customers and more than 100 km of pipeline.

Current State of the Industry

The average cost of water for a residential water co-op is very close to $4.00 per cubic meter while the agricultural water co-ops have an average cost of $1.40 per cubic meter. The average cost for residential water is not out of line when compared to various Alberta urban municipalities.

Most Rural Water Co-ops are stable or resilient. This conclusion is based on a subjective analysis by the Study team that included a number of objective data collected in the Study. The corollary to this statement is that there are many rural water co-ops that are struggling or failing. Symptoms of less than optimum performance include high costs, lack or insufficient reserve funds, no formal risk management and informal relationships with customers. Further work is required to confirm this high-level assessment and will need to be conducted on a co-op by co-op basis.

Aging infrastructure and succession planning to replace aging leadership are two of the top concerns of rural water co-ops. Water co-ops are built on two critical foundations: their infrastructure and their leadership. However, both are aging rapidly. Much like the pipelines that have silently delivered water for decades, the board members managing these co-ops are approaching the end of their tenure. With infrastructure nearing its lifespan and leadership succession in question, the future sustainability of these systems is uncertain. Without timely upgrades and a new generation of committed board members, co-ops risk collapsing under the weight of their own longevity.

Many co-ops lack proper documentation of their pipeline locations, a problem exacerbated by decades of informal knowledge transfer between aging members. When board members retire from the co-op, their knowledge of the system is not always passed on. This is especially damaging when information about the system is not stored anywhere else. The loss of knowledge is just as dangerous as the loss of infrastructure, reinforcing the urgent need for proper mapping, digitization, and structured knowledge-sharing systems.

For drinking water co-ops, the increasing complexity of regulatory requirements presents an additional challenge. Certified operators, strict testing protocols, and evolving safety standards demand resources that many co-ops struggle to secure. The balance between compliance and feasibility is delicate—while regulations are necessary for public safety, their financial and operational burden may unintentionally push smaller co-ops toward unsustainable models or costly consolidation.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the main government ministries and departments with responsibilities for rural water co-ops, and the Water Federation establish a co-ordination committee to champion mutual initiatives aimed at improving the overall health and sustainability of the rural water industry.
It is recommended that the Rural Water Program be extended and modified both in scope and financially as on-going needs for support are identified to continue to nurture the industry towards a healthy and sustainable future.
It is recommended that the Water Federation be empowered under the Rural Water Program to provide focused assistance to rural water co-ops that are struggling or failing.
It is recommended that the government consider a role for the Water Federation as a monitor of water co-op health for small, low-risk water co-ops by allowing the Water Federation to conduct comprehensive reviews and to certify that they are being well run.

1. Introduction
The Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops (the Water Federation), with the support of the Alberta Government is embarking on a multi-year Rural Water Program to directly tackle issues and opportunities faced by rural communities related to safe, reliable and affordable access to water. This Study and report are intended to lay the groundwork for this Rural Water Program by:

filling existing information gaps related to the size and characteristics of the rural water co-ops,
identifying the most important issues faced by these organizations,
identifying existing best practices and innovations, and
identifying areas requiring support.

The Water Federation has made efforts in the past to learn more about its membership and issues facing rural water co-ops in Alberta. These efforts have included conducting small member surveys by phone or email with relatively small budgets. This Study is by far the most extensive of these efforts. Thanks to financial support from the Government of Alberta through the Ministry of Utilities and Affordability Rural Utilities Division, it has been possible to invest significant time and resources into on-site interviews that allow a more direct connection with the co-ops. This also allowed the Water Federation the possibility to assess the situation on the ground and to explore real-world challenges with each participating water co-op.

The need for this type of comprehensive Study is fundamentally driven by the current poor understanding of the size, characteristics and status of the rural water co-op community in Alberta. A simple illustration of this information gap is to say that we do not know how many rural water co-ops exist in the province because there is no central registry for all water co-ops. While many water co-ops are incorporated under the Rural Utilities Act, some are incorporated under the Societies Act and others through the Business Incorporations Act; others may not be incorporated at all. Many drinking water co-ops are required to report under the Water Act or Environmental Protection legislation but others are regulated by Alberta Health Services. About 100 water co-ops have joined the Water Federation as members, drawn by the support of a larger organization. All of these information sources have been used to estimate the number and identification of Alberta’s rural water co-ops in this report.

The Study was completed in a roughly one-year timeframe beginning in April 2024 and culminating with this report completed in March 2025. This Study included a survey aimed at identifying both the challenges and innovations within Alberta rural water co-ops. On-site interviews were carried out at as many locations as feasible. Water Federation staff, along with consultants, analyzed the collected data and compiled the Final Report for the Study.

Details of the Study project can be found in Appendices A through C including the original Terms of Reference, the Execution Plan and the Survey Questionnaire used to structure the site visits and interviews.

1.1. Alberta Federation of Rural Water Co-ops Ltd.
The Water Federation has been one of Alberta’s leaders in ensuring safe, reliable, and affordable water access for rural Albertans since 1994. The Water Federation is a collective identity representing about 100 individual rural water co-ops in Alberta. The Water Federation is recognized by the Government of Alberta, including departments within the Rural Utilities, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, and Alberta Health Services, as a valuable representative for the rural water industry that can weigh in on the development of policy and regulation.

The Water Federation’s mandate is to act as a forum for member owned water co-ops to share information and experiences, and to serve as a conduit and sounding board for the government before new regulations or legislation are implemented. The Water Federation’s vision is to ensure a safe, secure water supply for rural Albertans for both residential and agricultural use at a reasonable price.

The Water Federation’s membership has grown to just under 100 members, representing about two-thirds of all water co-ops in Alberta. The Water Federation’s member-owned co-ops vary in size from as small as 5 connections to over 1,500. Sources of water are varied, ranging from wells, dugouts, reservoirs, rivers, and nearby towns/cities with their own water sources. Water uses are primarily either residential or agricultural.

2. Rural Water in Alberta
This section will provide background on access to water in Alberta as well as begin to describe the population of rural water co-ops that are active in the province. Additionally, it will highlight some of the diversity amongst these organizations, which contribute to the diversity of issues that currently exist for rural water in Alberta.

2.1. The Alberta Rural Water Co-op Population
“A co-op is simply a formal way for people to organize themselves and achieve a goal…In western Canada, a co-op is created and run by a group of three or more. It is legally incorporated and can be a for-profit business or non-profit organization.” Therefore, a rural Alberta water co-op can be described as a legally incorporated organization of three or more people, that has the goal of supplying water to a group of rural Albertans.

The first step in the Study was to identify the population of rural water co-ops that would be the Study target. This is not a simple question as there is no one source that can provide a complete census. In order to determine the number and identification of the rural water co-op community, a number of sources were consulted as described below.

2.1.1. Rural Utilities Act
The Rural Utilities Act was put in place in 1986 to provide a simple mechanism for rural utility co-ops to get organized. This Act and its associated Regulations provide a framework and standard rules and bylaws for incorporating a rural utility. The Act is typically utilized by natural gas, electric and water/wastewater utilities. Rural utilities incorporated prior to 1986 under the Alberta Co-ops Associations Act are also included and continued under this Act.

The Rural Utilities Act is administered by the Minister of Affordability and Utilities and includes an annual registry of all subject co-ops. According to the Ministry, as of 2024, there were 143 Water Co-ops in the province incorporated under the Act. For most of these co-ops, there was a current registration of address and key contacts that could be utilized for the Study.

Based on records at the Water Federation, there are a number of rural water co-ops that have been organized and incorporated under other legislation such as the Business Corporations Act, and others have not been incorporated at all. Therefore, this list is an important start but does not account for all rural water co-ops.

2.1.2. Water Act
The Water Act requires that any entity that wishes to extract water from the ground or divert from a surface water source must apply for and obtain a license for that extraction under the Water Act. There are very few exclusions to this requirement for a water license and almost all rural water co-ops have a license to extract water.

The Water Federation conducted a review of water extraction licenses based on license owner names to determine if additional rural water co-ops could be identified. Based on these exercises, 186 wells have been identified and mapped as belonging to rural water co-ops.

Unfortunately, there is no requirement under the Water Act to consistently register the intended use for water that is extracted nor to register current contact information in a publicly available database. Therefore, the usefulness of this data was minimal.

2.1.3. Environmental Protection Act
The Alberta Environmental Protection Act requires that water treatment, distribution and wastewater systems beyond a certain size obtain operating approvals. The majority of the Alberta rural water co-ops that can be identified under this Act include those systems that provide treated water intended for residential consumption and which either obtain water from a surface water source or from a high-quality groundwater source where there are more than 14 customers.

Unfortunately, this potential database does not include any water co-ops that provide water for only agricultural purposes or which obtain water from a high-quality groundwater well and have 14 or less customers. Given these considerations and also considering that rural water co-ops that also were licensed under this Act are probably included in the Rural Utilities Data Base, this potential source of data was not pursued further.

2.1.4. Water Federation Membership
The Water Federation membership list was used as one of the primary sources for rural water co-op background information and contact information. The Water Federation requires members to register annually to maintain contact lists and keeps member statistics up to date. In addition, the Water Federation has conducted previous membership surveys to ascertain the makeup of its membership which provides a preliminary database with some information about half of the rural water co-ops in the province. There are currently about 100 rural water co-ops that are members of the Water Federation.

2.1.5. Final Word on Rural Water Co-op Population
For the purposes of the Study, the database provided by Rural Utilities, was cross referenced with the Water Federation list of members to identify 153 water co-ops that could be verified and contacted. It is likely that there are additional water co-ops that are in neither of these data bases leading to the conclusion that the actual number could be as high as 170. Nevertheless, for the purposes of the Study, the focus will be on the 153 co-ops that could be identified and contacted.

2.2. Role of Water Co-ops in Rural Alberta
Water is essential for life. It is also a fundamental input to many rural activities driving the agricultural economy in Alberta. In many parts of Alberta, water is abundant and suitable for human consumption and agricultural use. Many rural operations have dedicated wells or have access to surface water which is diverted for both residential and agricultural purposes.

Historically, where water has not been available from a local source, rural life may have been supported by transporting water from a neighboring source by wagon or truck. In some cases, local water may not have been healthy or aesthetically pleasing but rural residents would have had to make the best of what was available.

Where water quality or quantity has not been sufficient to meet demands of human consumption or agricultural operations, and where the economic drivers weren’t strong enough to induce commercial solutions, rural communities have resorted to the development of rural water co-ops as a means to fill the gap. Water co-ops have been viable alternatives where the input of volunteer labor, land and capital by the members combine to create a water supply for the benefit of the community.

In other cases, rural water co-ops have been formed in conjunction with the development of land near urban centers for rural residential uses. In these cases, municipal governments have insisted that land developers arrange for a water supply system for the rural residential lands that is efficient and that doesn’t lead to a proliferation of individual water wells or excessive trucking of treated water to the new homes. Often, this has resulted in the development of a local water co-op connected to a community well or a surface water source, with appropriate water treatment and distribution constructed by the developer. Once the new homes are sold, the water system is left in the hands of the residents in the form of a rural water co-op.

In either of these cases, the end result is that a rural water co-op is formed and run by the members to deliver much needed water to the community. This is aligned with the historical trends of all rural services that so heavily rely on volunteerism. Dr. Clark Banack and Meredith Jevne reiterate this point and argue on behalf of the importance of volunteer work in rural areas in their paper “Declining Rates of Volunteerism in Alberta and the Increasing Threat to Rural Municipalities.” They argue that “basically all the critical social infrastructure that supports quality of life in rural areas remains hugely dependent on volunteers. In fact, it is difficult to think of an area of rural municipal responsibility in Alberta that does not, in some way or another, rely on volunteers.” However, another Study by Conway and Stricker-Talbot noted that, from 2020-2023, “Alberta has seen a dramatic decline in formal volunteering, with 42 per cent of organizations identifying that a lack of volunteers is an immediate concern impacting their operations.” Rural water co-ops heavily align with these identified trends. They have historically and continue to rely heavily on volunteer work and in recent years have been struggling with the decline in volunteerism.

Water is a vital resource for both life and the agricultural economy in Alberta, and rural water co-ops have emerged as a crucial solution where traditional water sources fall short. These co-ops, often built on volunteerism and community collaboration, have historically filled gaps in water access and quality. However, the decline in volunteerism poses a significant challenge to their sustainability, highlighting the need for renewed support and innovative approaches to ensure these essential systems continue to serve rural communities effectively.

2.3. Alberta’s Water Supply
Water is critical to our survival because it is essential for all life forms, and without it, we face serious health risks. In Alberta, water is found in many places, such as rivers, lakes, and underground. However, since the supply of water is limited, sustainable practices are necessary to ensure this valuable resource is managed properly. In Alberta, water is critical for all aspects of life, including industry, agriculture, and both urban and rural living.

Although the province is better off than other parts of the world when it comes to water, there is still a unique set of challenges that Albertans must navigate. For instance, the threat of both floods and droughts: “Alberta’s lakes and rivers are susceptible to flooding, especially in the spring season when snowmelt and rainstorms frequently occur. However, before the flood of 2013 many water users were more concerned about drought. Drought is a major concern in Alberta where long periods of drought can complicate farming practices, electricity production from hydropower and challenge overall water management and allocation.”

This is most noticeable for water co-ops that depend on groundwater as their source. Over time, groundwater levels in some areas of the province have fallen causing water co-ops to have difficulty supplying customers. Climate change and drought conditions can exacerbate the already scarce nature of the resource and create seasonal or longer-term water shortages for many users including water co-ops.

It has been estimated that Alberta has an abundance of groundwater compared to its surface water. This resource is especially important for rural Albertans, as “approximately 90 percent of rural Albertans rely on groundwater wells for their primary source of water supply.” Water co-ops access both surface water and groundwater to provide this utility to their members.