The City of Medicine Hat is developing a long-term Water Management and Adaptation Strategy (WMAS) to guide how water is managed across the community through to 2050.

You can explore the full project here: View the Water Strategy project page and complete the survey before June 19. This initiative reflects a growing recognition that water is not just an environmental issue - it is a core economic driver that supports business operations, growth, and long-term community resilience.

Why This Matters to Business

Water plays a critical role in nearly every sector across Southeast Alberta - from agriculture and manufacturing to construction, hospitality, and healthcare. The City has identified that population growth, economic development, and climate pressures are increasing the complexity of water management.

At the same time, recent extreme weather and water-related events have reinforced the need for proactive planning. For businesses, this means:

• Greater focus on long-term infrastructure reliability
• More strategic planning around water supply and services
• Increased importance of resilience during drought or extreme events
  

A well-planned water strategy helps reduce risk, avoid emergency disruptions, and support stable operating conditions across the business community.

What the Strategy Is (and Isn’t)

The Water Management and Adaptation Strategy is being developed as a long-term planning framework, not a regulatory change.

According to the City, the strategy will:

• Identify current and future water challenges
• Prioritize the most critical risks
• Guide future planning and decision-making
• Support reliable and resilient water services 

The strategy will not:

• Approve new spending, rates, or regulations
• Pre-approve specific projects
• Require residents or businesses to change water use behaviour 

This distinction is important - it signals that businesses are not facing immediate regulatory changes, but rather a strategic direction that will influence future decisions.

A Coordinated, City-Wide Approach

The strategy brings together multiple systems into a single framework, including:

• Drinking water supply
• Wastewater treatment
• Stormwater management
• Growth and economic planning
• Climate risk and adaptation 

It is designed to integrate with the City’s Environmental Framework and align water management with long-term development and infrastructure priorities.

Key Pressures Driving the Strategy

The City’s work highlights several pressures businesses should be aware of:

• Climate variability - changing precipitation patterns and extreme weather events
• Economic growth - increasing demand on water systems
• Aging Infrastructure - the need for long-term asset planning
• Regional water system pressures - shared watershed challenges

These factors reinforce that water is becoming a more strategic resource, not just a utility service.

Why Chamber Engagement Matters

The City is actively seeking input from the community to help shape priorities and guide future investments. This is a key opportunity for the business community to:

• Influence long-term infrastructure planning
• Ensure economic growth considerations are reflected
• Advocate for reliable and cost-effective water services
• Bring forward sector-specific needs and concerns

Through the Chamber’s recommendations for the Development of an Economic Development Strategy, and Embedding Economic Stewardship in Municipal Public Service, the Chamber has advocated for the assessment of regional assets and analysis of growth capacity for water, power, land and airshed in the municipal strategy and to ensure strategic projects include an economic development perspective.

The Chamber has been advocating for a water strategy in relation to the growth needs of the municipality in addition to a better overall understanding of assets and resources. We will continue to engage in this process and keep our business community informed as new information is available.

What Businesses Can Do Now

Businesses are encouraged to actively participate in the City’s Water Strategy engagement by reviewing the plan and completing the survey, ensuring that business perspectives directly inform long-term decisions. When providing input, it is also important to highlight the need for the strategy to support economic development and future growth, including both residential and commercial expansion, sufficient water capacity and infrastructure, and the conditions required for investment attraction and retention to occur. At the same time, businesses should use this opportunity to evaluate their own water use, identify risks, efficiencies, and future needs.

Chamber Perspective

From a Chamber perspective, this strategy represents an important step toward:

• Ensuring long-term economic competitiveness
• Supporting sustainable growth and investment attraction
• Strengthening infrastructure planning and reliability
• Positioning Medicine Hat as a resilient and forward-looking community

Water is foundational to business confidence. A clear, proactive strategy helps ensure the region remains a strong place to invest, operate, and grow.

Have Your Say

The Chamber encourages members to review the project and share their input before the June 19 survey deadline:
Participate in the Water Strategy Engagement. Your voice will help shape the future of water management in Medicine Hat and ensure business priorities are part of the conversation.