What is a Healthy Watershed?

An important role of the BRWA is to share information about the state (or health) of our watersheds, and encourage people to take actions that support the health of this place. Over the past few years, we’ve been working to broaden our view of what “watershed health” means.

We understand that the health of people, communities, ecosystems, and economies are all interconnected. In a healthy watershed, we have clean, safe, and secure water supplies for our communities and economy. Healthy land and water ecosystems also support fish and wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and provide us with clean air to breathe, outdoor recreation opportunities, sustainable food production, resilience to floods and droughts, and so much more.

Taking Notice to Take Action: Integrating Environment, Community, and Health (2023)

This atlas is the Battle River Watershed Alliance’s second state of the watershed report. It was developed with a combination of resources from the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy, Battle River Watershed Alliance, University of Alberta, ECHO (Environment, Community, Health Observatory) Network, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The report features maps, data, and information on over 40 indicators related to ecological, community, and public health. Unique in watershed reporting, this state of the watershed report captures public and community health indicators. The BRWA expanded our focus on health in the watershed based on a Watershed Health Indicator Framework created in collaboration with the ECHO Network. Over the last 12 years, the BRWA has been working in the community to increase watershed literacy and support on-the-ground stewardship projects to move awareness to action.

Read the Health in the Watershed Atlas

Upcoming Engagement: Winter/spring 2024

The BRWA wants to hear from watershed community members about how the Atlas reflects and informs our understanding of ecological, community, and public health across the region. We also want to learn about any potential gaps or aspects of health that are not yet represented in our state of the watershed reporting. We’ll be hosting a Health in the Watershed Summit and having focused conversations with a range of watershed partners, and will also be releasing an online survey to hear from the broader watershed community. Stay tuned for more information on how you can be involved in the conversation!

Our Battle: State of the Battle River and Sounding Creek Watersheds (2011)

This State of the Watershed report is an important first step in becoming more knowledgeable about our watersheds and more attuned to what we need to do to make them healthier. It provides a snapshot of the health of the Alberta portions of the Battle River and Sounding Creek watersheds, looking at various indicators of watershed health such as surface and groundwater quality and quantity, land use practices, wetland and riparian health, biodiversity and the status of fish and wildlife species, and more.

Read the State of the Watershed Report

ECHO Network and the Watershed Health Indicator Framework

Since 2017, the BRWA has been a member of the Environment, Community, Health Observatory Network. The ECHO Network includes partners from universities, public health authorities, and non-profit organizations across Canada and around the world. The Battle River and Sounding Creek watersheds are one of four “regional cases” involved in the ECHO Network. This network has broadened our understanding of watershed health and led us to develop a new Watershed Health Indicator Framework, which represents the multifaceted aspects of the health of our watersheds and all who live here. Now and into the future, this framework will help guide our conversations and actions to care for the holistic health of land, water, people, and communities in our watersheds. The Watershed Health Indicator Framework is also foundational to the Health in the Watershed Atlas. This “next-generation” state of the watershed report provides an updated and more holistic picture of the health of people, communities, and ecosystems in our watersheds.

See more about our ECHO Work and the Watershed Health Indicator Framework here.

 

 

Read the reports that inform our watershed management

Title Type(s) Year Format
Riparian Areas and Health Summary of the Battle River Watershed Watershed Data 2010 PDF
ALMS_Shorncliffe Lake Watershed Data 2000 PDF
ALMS_Pigeon Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2019 PDF
ALMS_Little Beaver Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2019 PDF
ALMS_Lacombe Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2019 PDF
ALMS_Hardisty Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2016 PDF
ALMS_Dried Meat Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2000 PDF
ALMS_Clear Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2018 PDF
ALMS_Arm Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2016 PDF
ALMS_Battle Lake_LakeWatch Report Watershed Data 2012 PDF
Battle River Synoptic Survey Phase I Watershed Data 2012 PDF
Battle River Synoptic Survey Phase II Watershed Data 2014 PDF
Battle River Water Quality Data Watershed Data 2016 PDF
A Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity Watershed Data 2008 PDF
Battle River Basin: Socio-Economic Profile Watershed Data 2006 PDF
Economic Activity and Ecosystem Services in the Battle River Basin Watershed Data 2011 PDF
Our Battle: State of the Battle River and Sounding Creek Watersheds Report Watershed Data 2011 PDF