With southern Alberta experiencing drought conditions heading into spring, the Government of Alberta is asking thousands of water licence users to move their licence online to save time, reduce red tape and help the province during a drought.
There are about 25,000 water licences in Alberta, the province says. “The province now has an easy-to-use digital system that lets users report on water use and manage their licence through a confidential online tool. However, many water licences issued before November 2021 still report in using older electronic and paper-based systems that are slow and hard to track.”
The government is asking all Albertans with water licences issued before November 2021 to move them into the online system by the end of this year. “This will help licence holders save time and help the province understand how much water is available during a severe drought.”
Alberta’s Digital Regulatory Assurance System is a secure and 100 per cent confidential online platform. “It helps licence holders submit reports, apply for renewals or amendments, receive email reminders and track their status. Alberta Environment and Protected Areas uses this information to help water managers and users make important decisions on how to manage the drought,” says the province.
“Moving into the digital system will make your licence quicker and easier for you to manage and help us keep track of how much water is available in Alberta. As we face the risk of severe drought,” says RJ Sigurdson, minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.
According to the province, the digital system will provide a faster and better experience for water licence holders, who will be able to easily access and view licence records. “Applying for new licences or renewals will become much quicker, and it will be easier to submit and track incident notifications. Overall, the system provides easy access to important information licence holders need to manage their licences.”