Irrigation districts, which account for 46% of Alberta's water allocation, have also agreed to use less by allowing other water users to receive their share and then dividing up what is left.

Those historic agreements — signed by southern Alberta municipalities, irrigation districts and companies to voluntarily reduce water use — were a “tremendous success,” the government said.

Several irrigation districts in southern Alberta said they're filling up canals and opening one or two weeks earlier than usual. An irrigation canal near Brooks, Alberta. (Dave Gilson/CBC) ...

Alberta's irrigation managers are proposing a $5-billion plan for water storage and conservation in the province's south as the region faces an increasingly tight water supply.

The 800-pound gorillas of the negotiations are Alberta’s 11 irrigation districts, which primarily deliver water to agricultural producers for crops and livestock.

WATCH ABOVE: Alberta’s irrigation industry plays a significant role in the economy and the province is hoping to attract economic investment by expanding irrigation projects. Jessica Robb ...

I just stumbled across these slick new vignettes produced by Southern Alberta’s little-known but quietly powerful irrigation districts, now known as a group called Alberta’s Bow River ...