Sharing is Caring - Knowledge is Power!

At our last meeting, the Calgary Current was thrilled to welcome Mike Murrey from the Bow River Basin Council (BRBC) as a guest speaker.

A biologist by training, Mike brings a wealth of knowledge with him about the Bow River sub-basin.  It was very generous of him to spend an hour of his Saturday morning discussing with us everything from the aquatic life and biodiversity of the Basin to water licensing policies and politics.



The neat thing about the BRBC is that it is a collaborative, multi-stakeholder, charitable organization that doesn't take sides when it comes to water. Instead, the BRBC brings groups together to focus on solutions to some of our most pressing water issues. You can get a lot more done when you're not wasting time pointing fingers and laying blame!

The BRBC only has 3 paid staff members (Mike is one of them) but works with a lot of volunteers and interest groups. The BRBC includes representatives from urban and rural municipalities, irrigated and dryland agriculture, as well as recreational, industrial and other interests, and First Nations people within the Bow River Basin.


Some of the great points that Mike raised included:
- Calgary has some of the best water treatment facilities in the world
- Calgary (& the surrounding region) has only 3% of the province's total water supply yet is home to 33% of the province's population!
- The City of Calgary only uses 50% of its water license
- Southern Alberta has very little groundwater yet lots of sunlight - this means that a lot of demand is placed on the few rivers we have for irrigating large swaths of land!

The Bow River Basin

- The Bow River is as important for recreation as it is for irrigation


We are thankful to Mike and the whole BRBC for sharing so much information with The Ripple Effect - Calgary Current. Sharing is Caring and Knowledge is Power!