The South Saskatchewan River, into which the Bow River flows, is considered to be the “most threatened” river in Canada.

A report, produced by WWF-Canada, an environmental organization, says serious action is required to keep the country’s rivers flowing and to prevent them from being drained by expanding cities, soaring energy demands and climate change.

“Flow regimes in some of Canada’s most important rivers, such as the South Saskatchewan and the St. Lawrence, have been modified to the extent that ecosystems are in serious trouble,” says the report.

“Soon, many others – including some of the planet’s increasingly scarce, large, free-flowing rivers like the Skeena, the Athabasca and the Mackenzie – could be in trouble as well, as demands on the water grow and climate change intensifies.”

The study assessed the flow of 10 Canadian rivers and the impact of economic development, infrastructure and hydroelectric dams. The report compared the process of evaluating a river’s flow to measuring blood pressure in a human, to assess the country’s water supply and potential threats to both the environment and local industries.

The report, which did not examine pollution levels, urges federal and provincial governments to work together to establish new measures to prevent major water diversions and promote responsible and sustainable development for new infrastructure projects.

The South Saskatchewan is considered the most threatened river in Canada because of hundreds of dams and withdrawals of 70 per cent of its flow for agricultural and urban use, not to mention potential climate change impacts.