Alberta province-wide · Bow · Oldman · South Saskatchewan
Search the EPA active licence export, rank holders by FITFIR seniority, and read the sold archive with transfer comparables from public sources. Free to use. Confirm every authorization in the Environmental Records Viewer before you file. We do not broker transfers, hold funds, or file applications.
Bill 7 came into force March 11, 2026, the first real Water Act update in over 25 years. Section 81.1 now requires transfer applicants to submit their agreements and the price paid, and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas is drafting what becomes public. As those prices surface, the firm with the cleanest comparable set answers the question every transfer turns on: what is allocation worth in this basin right now. Water Register is building that record.
Alberta water rights run on prior appropriation: first in time, first in right. The Water Act received Royal Assent in 1996 and came into force January 1, 1999, formalizing licences under Crown ownership, FITFIR seniority, and statutory transfer of allocation between holders (Sections 81–83). When watersheds hit allocation limits, the province closed them to new surface licences. The Bow, Oldman, and lower South Saskatchewan sub-basins closed in 2006. Since then, most new surface allocation in those areas has come through permanent or temporary transfers between existing licence holders, not new diversions.
The Water Amendment Act (Bill 7) took effect March 11, 2026, the first major amendment since the Act came into force. Lower-risk inter-basin transfers can now proceed by Ministerial Order if they pass environmental tests; larger or higher-risk moves still need a special Act of the Legislature. Transfer applicants must submit their agreements and any price paid (Section 81.1). Alberta Environment and Protected Areas is still drafting what becomes public. Bill 7 also streamlined licensing decisions, reduced the default environmental holdback on transfers, allowed rooftop rainwater harvesting and wastewater reuse, and merged the Peace, Slave, and Athabasca into one administrative basin.
Closure stops most new Crown surface licences. It does not stop all water use. Growth in closed basins usually comes from transfers between existing holders, not fresh diversions. Open basins still accept new grants, with the same transfer and amendment paths available everywhere.
Water Register classifies each EPA export row by instrument (licence type) and inferred origin (original grant vs transfer vs amendment). The framework is public; ERV remains the system of record.
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Get notified when Alberta Environment and Protected Areas publishes transfer prices under Section 81.1 for your watershed.
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Bill 7 Section 81.1 price disclosure is in force. Alberta Environment and Protected Areas is still drafting what becomes public. When transfer prices publish, we will expand the comparable record.