In this drought year, Alberta's water allocation is under the microscope. Here's what the data says

Across Alberta, communities and experts are concerned about the potential for worsening drought conditions this year, and an increased frequency and severity of droughts in the future due to climate change.

While the same licensing system applies across the province, each region, watershed and river basin has its own unique characteristics that produce different water allocation profiles.

Digging into licence data from the provincial government helps paint a clearer picture of how water is allocated and used across Alberta.

The Alberta Flow Estimation Tool for Ungauged Watersheds displays detailed information about water licences within set search parameters.

This story is based on two provincewide data sets exported from that tool by CBC News — one for surface water, including lakes and rivers, and one for groundwater.

Each entry includes the name of the licence holder and their priority number, which is based on the date of issuance and determines their ranking relative to other users in times of water shortage.

There is also detailed information about the licence itself, including maximums for total water diverted and total water consumed.

Consumed water is water that is taken and not returned. Some water users, such as municipalities, divert large amounts of water. However, because much of that water is later treated and returned to the same water body, the consumptive use is relatively low.

The data also details the major and minor river basin of each licence, as well as the broad and specific categories of water use.

For example, irrigation, fish farms and drinking water for livestock all fall under the category of agriculture.

Importantly, the data is not a representation of how much water is actually being used.

Rather, the licence volumes and consumption represent the maximum amount of water that can be diverted or consumed under that licence.

However, the data still paints an informative picture of how water is allocated across Alberta.

Surface water represents the vast majority of all water allocated in the province, with groundwater accounting for less than five per cent of the total volume.