Applying Manitoba's Water Policies - Government of Manitoba

Applying the PoliciesUse & AllocationOverviewWater is essential for life. We depend on water notonly to maintain our physical well being, but also toenhance or maintain our lifestyle. We use water fordrinking, cleansing, cooking, cooling, heating, growingfood, generating electricity, recreation, waste assimilation,and many other purposes. Water is also essentialfor fish and wildlife habitat.Taking all household uses into account,Manitobans, in 1990, used about 450 litres of water perperson per day on the average. This is about 40 percentof our total water use, which includes municipal,rural, agricultural, and industrial uses. Manitobansobtain about 80 percent of their water supplies fromsurface sources and the remaining 20 percent fromgroundwater wells.While Manitoba has an abundance of fresh water,good quality water is not always available where andwhen it is needed, and in the amounts it is needed. Insome areas, water use is approaching the rate of supply,and in other areas, water shortages already exist.priority, followed in order by municipal, agricultural,industrial, irrigation, and other uses. The issuance of awater rights licence establishes the legal right to use aprescribed amount of water over a specified time.Water allocation decisions must be made on arational basis and in a consistent, fair, and equitablemanner. Such decisions could be enhanced throughthe application of an integrated basin planningapproach, whereby the geographic unit for water planningand decision making is the watershed or basin.There must be more local involvement in decisionmaking. Decisions must ensure that the basin suppliesare sustained, that all existing and potential uses ofwater within the basin are considered, and that theenvironmental and economic consequences of variouswater management options are taken into account.As living standards and economic development inthe province are ever increasing, so also is the demandfor water. More communities are installing water supplyand sewerage systems, and industrial and agriculturaldemands continue to grow. Water use has beenincreasing at a rate of about five percent per year.Some important aquifers and larger streams in southernManitoba are now either fully allocated or nearlyfully allocated. User conflicts are becoming more common.Water must be carefully allocated to ensure thatavailable supplies are used in the best possible manner,the ecosystem is supported, and withdrawals do notexceed the rate at which the supplies are naturallyreplenished.The provincial government, through the waterrights licensing system, has the responsibility for allocatingthe use of water resources within the province.The water rights licensing system operates under thelegal authority of the Water Rights Act. The WaterRights Act establishes the priorities of allocating ourwater resource. Domestic usage is given the highest29