Following widespread flooding in 2013, the Government of Alberta recognized that the capacity for natural systems to mitigate the effects of flooding had been significantly reduced in some areas of the province. The Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program (WRRP) was created to fund projects that contribute to the restoration and protection of natural flood mitigation processes. Associated led a project to identify priority watersheds for allocation of resources under the WRRP, using an objective and scientifically rigorous approach.
To provide decision-makers with information that could be used to inform program decisions, three priority maps were produced, one for each of flood, drought, and water quality management. These maps were created using a criteria and indicators framework in which specific indicators representing each of the criteria (hazard, consequence and resilience) were used to generate priorities for flood, drought, and water quality management at the watershed scale.