Irrigation pivots (Image Credit: Jim Parkin/Dreamstime)

By Jesse Gill

Agriculture

Farmers in St. Mary River Irrigation District allocated more water in 2026

Mar 30, 2026 | 1:18 PM

The St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) has allocated 14 inches from the farm gate for irrigation this season.

Chairman Cory Nelson says the board carefully considers a number of factors when deciding on allocation.

“Based on modelling and snowpack data supplied by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, we are very comfortable a 14-inch allocation will allow irrigators to grow a successful crop in 2026, while also allowing the district to meet storage targets for winter 2026,” Nelson said.

“This announcement follows an initial 8-inch allocation in 2024, which was later raised to 9 inches, and a 12-inch allocation in 2025.”

Nelson adds that the board also factors in the current storage levels.

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“While the warmer temperatures this winter resulted in a reduced snowpack overall for the Southern Tributaries, strategic investments in off-stream storage reservoirs allowed for the capture of an additional 155,000 acre-feet of early runoff water in winter 2025/2026,” Nelson said.

General Manager David Westwood says that, based on modelling, storage and snowpack data, the allocation supports the environmental realities of projected runoff supply and existing storage.

“We are eager to complete an additional two Alberta Irrigation Modernization (AIM) projects in 2025/2026, which will bring the total AIM Program projects completed to 24 of the 30 modernization projects,” Westwood said.

“These pipeline projects have resulted in efficiency gains across the district and tangible improvements to water management.”

The combined storage in the SMRID as of Oct. 31, 2025, was 463,500 acre-feet.

As of March 27, 2026, the combined storage was at 620,000 acre-feet, or 79 per cent of full supply level.

Reports recorded for 2025 showed the average on-crop use across the district was 9.5 inches.

The SMRID is the largest Irrigation District in Canada and North America, with over 2,000 km of canals and pipelines spanning from Lethbridge to Medicine Hat and serves 518,000 acres.

An estimated 21,900 acre-feet of water savings on an annual basis has been realized through the AIM pipeline projects completed to date, from 2020 within the SMRID.

The SMRID states that, additionally, infrastructure improvements done by SMRID as well as on-farm efficiency improvements translate into 9,200 and 16,300 ac-ft of additional efficiency gains each year, respectively.