Eastern Irrigation District

Wet winter needed to feed next years' crops, say Alberta irrigators amid early water shut-off

Wet winter needed to feed next years' crops, say Alberta irrigators amid early water shut-off

Lake Newell, a reservoir south of Brooks, Alta. that helps feed water to farmland as well as various municipal, industrial, wildlife and recreational areas, is less than half the level it should be heading into winter. The lake is a part of the Eastern Irrigation District (EID), an area east of Calgary bound by the Red Deer river to the north, and the Bow River to the south. On Sept. 25, EID shut down its irrigation season roughly two weeks ahead of when it normally would, due to dry conditions throughout the summer that have strained water supply. 

Water use restriction issued for County of Newell

Water use restriction issued for County of Newell

Low water flow in the Bow River has forced the Eastern Irrigation District (EID) to issue a water use restriction for the County of Newell. The EID says they have seen a dramatic drop in average river flow levels in both the Bow River and Highwood River this year. In a typical year flow in the Bow River starts to drop off by the middle and end of July. This year the EID says the Bow River dropped by the beginning of June.