How much water is needed to protect the aquatic environment?
Alberta Environment currently uses instream flow need and base flow calculations to help determine how much water is required to meet the needs of the aquatic environment: In-stream Flow Need (IFN) Instream flow needs are science-based calculations that determine the quantity of water required to remain in a river in order for there to be no/minimal impact to the life cycle of aquatic species or the established ecosystem. Base flow Fish habitat and riparian instream flow need determinations identify a base flow, below which no further reduction in flow is recommended to minimize loss of aquatic species. These are the uncommon low flow events that naturally stress a population and may limit overall population size. An in-stream flow need study is based on five components of the aquatic environment: • Hydrology stream flow and water movement, including quantity, timing, duration, and frequency of flows; • Geomorphology river and stream channels and their associated landforms, shaped thro
