Please direct all questions and comments to Dr. Christian De Kimpe 11. R.D. Kreutzwiser, N.D. MacAlpine, L. Ring, and T.S. Veeman Highlights Competition for water among users is expected to grow as water supplies become less available, giving rise to conflict in some cases. Agriculture's chief competitors for water in terms of withdrawals are thermal power generation, manufacturing, and municipal water use.
Effective solutions involve managing demand rather than guaranteeing supply.
The availability of water limits the expansion of both irrigated agriculture and large-scale livestock production in western Canada. Groundwater, where available, is not always of sufficient quality for these types of farming. Intensive livestock operations also pose environmental concerns, particularly related to manure management. Drought limits agricultural production in some years in the semi-arid part of the Prairies and in some other areas. Droughts may become more frequent and severe in the future as a result of climate change under the enhanced greenhouse effect.