What is the difference between a water licence and irrigation acres?
“Water licences and irrigation acres are two distinct different identities and are not interchangeable.” Water Licences: Water licences are issued to users by Alberta Environment through provisions in the Alberta Water Act. A water licence for irrigation purposes will allow a user to irrigate a specific parcel of land withdrawing water from a specific public water source. People irrigating off of a river or stream would have their own water licence. Provisions in the Water Act allows for the transfer or assignment of water licences from one party to another party and must go through an application and approval process with Alberta Environment. Water licences in Alberta are administered exclusively by Alberta Environment. The Bow River Irrigation District has water licences that allow the BRID to withdraw a specific amount of water and to use that water for purposes as specified in the actual licence. The current licences state the purposes to be irrigation and domestic use. Irrigation
