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Water Risk Assessment Survey

Alberta British Columbia Seed Growers, Alberta Canola, Alberta Grains, Alberta Pulse Growers and Potato Growers of Alberta are working with consulting engineering firm, Hazen Canada, and funding from Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) to deliver a comprehensive, province-wide water risk assessment and actionable roadmap for crop producers.

Water availability, reliability and regulation pose growing risks to producers, especially dryland farmers.

If you are a dryland farmer in Alberta that is interested in sharing your water-related concerns, please participate in the survey below. The deadline to submit your responses is November 26, 2026.
1.Contact Information (Optional)
2.Would you be willing to participate in a future 1:1 interview?
General
3.Where are you located?
4.Do you worry more about your domestic water supply (i.e., drinking water) or water that impacts your crops? What are your primary concerns related to each?
5.Is drought (too little water) or flooding (too much water) a bigger issue for you?
6.Do you rely on groundwater or surface water (e.g., lake, dugout, or river)?
7.What keeps you awake at night when it comes to water (or lack of water) on your farm? Has this become better or worse over the last 10 years? Why?
8.How would you describe the reliability of rainfall in your area?
9.What kind of risk management programs do you utilize (either external or internal programs) to manage water related risk?
Drought
10.Which crops are most vulnerable to water shortages?
11.What does a “bad drought year” look like financially for you?
12.What actions do you take when rainfall is inadequate?
13.What do you wish you could do to be more drought resilient?
14.What stands in the way of drought resiliency?
Flood
15.Do you manage excess water with drainage? If not, why?
16.What is the impact that overly wet conditions on your operations, time and/or investment?
17.Are certain fields / crops becoming less productive over time because of excess water?
18.How often do you need to access crop insurance related to flood events? Are you able to configure your insurance to focus on specific fields/crops etc?
Water Quality
19.Are you concerned about water quality?
20.What are the main contaminants you are concerned about?
21.How do changing water quality conditions impact crop productivity?
22.How do you manage water quality? What do you wish you could do? What do you think water users upstream of you could do?
Predictability
23.What weather patterns create the greatest uncertainty for your operation?
24.What information would help you make better water-related decisions?
Infrastructure
25.Are there any regional water infrastructure projects that would improve resilience for producers in your area?
26.Are there examples where water infrastructure projects have affected your operation (positive or negative) in the past?
27.Are there any regional water infrastructure projects in development that would affect producers in your area (in positive or negative ways)?
Soil Moisture
28.How important is consistent soil moisture to your operation?
29.What management practices have helped you manage soil moisture?
Economic
30.Can you share an example of a water-related issue that has had a major negative financial impact on you?
31.Have you made investments specifically to address water risk? Did they pay off? What do you wish you did or could do?
32.Do you think changing climatic conditions are costing you money?
33.What water-related risks are hardest to manage? Why?
34.What water-related risks are hardest to insure against? Why?
Closing
35.What research or information related to water do you wish you could access?
36.Where do you currently get information that informs your water management decisions?
37.What do you expect from your crop commission in terms of helping you manage water related risk?
38.If the crop commissions could solve one water-related issue for you, what would it be?
39.What is your expectation in terms of frequency of engagement to share concerns and best practices with the crop commission and/or other producers?
40.Do you feel well prepared for future water challenges?
41.What do you think would make you more resilient?
42.Do you feel dryland producers have sufficient influence in water policy decisions?
43.Is there anything else you wish to share or questions you would like answered related to water risk, now or in the future?