Water Register sits beside official and industry tools. It does not replace them. Practitioners often use more than one.
Search and compare allocations across Alberta; confirm every licence in ERV before you file.
| Tool | Operator | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Records Viewer (ERV) | Government of Alberta | System of record — verify every licence before filing |
| Alberta Water Tool | Foundry Spatial / AUPRF | Supply modeling — availability, environmental flow needs, constrained areas at a map point |
| Water Register | Water Register | Transfer intelligence — searchable registry, closed-watershed context, market board |
| ERV | Water Register | |
|---|---|---|
| Core question | What is the official authorization, where is it on the map, and what documents are on file? | Who holds allocation in this watershed, how senior is the priority, is the basin closed, and is anyone trying to buy or sell? |
| Authority | Source of truth | Restated index from EPA open CSV; not authoritative |
| Documents | Licence PDFs, plans, application history | None (link out to ERV) |
| Province-wide sort by priority | No | Yes |
| Transfer market / listings | No | Yes |
| SSRB closed-basin framing | No | Yes |
Alberta.ca names ERV for transfer research with a disclaimer to verify originals. Water Register is a diligence layer on open data, not a substitute for ERV.
| Alberta Water Tool | Water Register | |
|---|---|---|
| Core question | At this map point, how much water is there, how much is allocated, what does the environment need? | Who holds this licence, what is their priority, is the watershed closed, and is anyone buying or selling allocation? |
| Primary user | Oil and gas water planners, regulators | Consultants, lawyers, irrigation districts, municipalities doing transfer work |
| Transfer market | No | Yes |
Water Register does not rebuild micro-watershed reports or environmental flow science. It focuses on registry search, the transfer board, closed-basin intelligence, and sold-archive context.