Grant: Alliance Grants

The world faces difficult choices between diverting finite water resources for agricultural and municipal useand maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Irrigation is essential for the economic prosperity ofCanada's agricultural industry, and our growing cities require increasing quantities of fresh water. However, thequantity, quality, and timing of the water in our rivers must also be maintained to sustain aquatic ecosystems.This research will explore groundwater use, healthy stream maintenance, and environmental watermanagement, as well as societal division on these issues. Studies will examine full-scale groundwaterextraction from seven Prince Edward Island (PEI) watersheds for agricultural irrigation and city water supplies.The study will evaluate potential impacts of water extraction on stream flow and life in a changing climate, aswell as possible benefits of irrigation, including reduced fertilizer use though better nutrient management,healthier soil mediated by increased organic matter, reduced greenhouse gas emissions from soil, and increasedeconomic prosperity. Effects on the soil, groundwater, streams, and stream-dwelling fish and invertebrates willbe observed. Set within the context of PEI's new Water Act, this work will evaluate how science, regulation,and social values can be synergized to enable improved knowledge-informed governance. The outcomes willhave many benefits to Canadians, including improved methods to understand stream flow that consider climatechange, ways to biologically test whether stream flow regulations are working, advanced soil nutrientmanagement strategies involving supplemental irrigation, better ways to increase soil organic matter to reducewater needs, and the incorporation of broader thinking into regional environmental management, includinginclusive participation and engagement. Together, these outcomes will provide crucial information that willhelp Canada move toward water sustainability.