Alberta invests in irrigation infrastructure improvement

Alberta’s government has announced an investment of $19 million to revitalize the province’s irrigation infrastructure.

The $19-million boost is a part of Budget 2024 and represents an increase of $5.5 million from the previous year. Producers and irrigation leaders have already identified priority areas for utilizing these funds effectively.

Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, RJ Sigurdson, emphasized the significance of the Irrigation Revitalization Program. According to Minister Sigurdson, this program has already made substantial strides in modernizing irrigation systems.

“Investing in our irrigation infrastructure now will help counter dry conditions, including drought, and increase the resiliency and competitiveness of our agricultural industry,” says Minister Sigurdson. “Improving the efficiency of Alberta’s irrigation infrastructure means the province can use the same amount of water to irrigate even more land.”

The impact of this investment extends across approximately 1.5 million acres of crop production in the province, including more than 290,000 acres of specialty crops. Within Alberta’s 11 irrigation districts, irrigated acres produce 28 per cent of the provincial agricultural gross domestic product.

Funding is used by irrigation districts to plan, design and deliver projects to modernize infrastructure, such as converting canals to pipelines, which reduces water lost through seepage and evaporation. In 2022, about 9.2 kilometres of open canals were converted to pipeline under the program.