Ranchers Get Another Chance to Register Water Use

For ranchers who have watered livestock on Crown grazing land for decades, gaps in old paperwork may have left that water use unrecognized. Alberta has reopened its Traditional Agricultural Registration Program to give eligible leaseholders a chance to correct those records.

Applications will be accepted until December 31, 2028, for qualifying agricultural water use on unpatented Crown land. The province estimates about 6,800 registrations could be eligible for review.

When the original program closed in 2001, grazing leaseholders could not apply directly because they did not own the land. Registrations were submitted on their behalf, but a later review with the Alberta Grazing Leaseholders Association found errors and missing information in some records.

Environment and Protected Areas Minister Grant Hunter said ranchers should not lose recognition of water use they have relied on for generations because of mistakes in government records. The reopened process will allow that history to be reviewed and, where eligible, properly registered.

The program applies to water used before January 1, 1999, for raising animals or applying pesticides, up to 6,250 cubic metres annually per farm unit. Under the Water Act, registrations receive a priority number based on when the water was first used. Amendments proclaimed March 11, 2026, restored the opportunity to register eligible use on unpatented Crown land.

Applicants will need to provide information about their water sources, including maps, legal land descriptions, dates of first use and estimated water volumes. Historical aerial photographs and well drilling records may also help establish past use.

The reopened program does not provide allocations for new water use, reopen registrations on private land or change existing licensed water allocations and priorities.

For grazing leaseholders in the Vermilion area, it is an opportunity to check whether their records accurately reflect the water sources their operations have used over the years.

Leaseholders are responsible for applying, and the province recommends speaking with registration staff before submitting an application. More information and application forms are available at alberta.ca/traditional-agricultural-registrations, or by calling 403-381-5285.