ABSTRACT
Myths of abundant and stationary water resources have infl uenced water policy and management in western Canada. Data presented in this chapter demonstrate that water use, policy and management were established during a period of fairly stable and reliable water supplies as compared to preceding and projected hydrological regimes. These data include tree-ring and historical evidence of prolonged drought, recent trends (glacier wastage, declining snowmelt runoff and summer fl ows), and global circulation models (GCM)-based scenarios of precipitation and runoff. We consider how water policy and management might be adjusted to compensate for a long-term view of the surface hydrology that includes more prolonged drought and lower average fl ows than observed and experienced in the twentieth century.
