News · Policy
Regulatory update
Bill 7 Section 81.1 price disclosure takes effect
Alberta's Water Amendment Act came into force on 11 March 2026. Transfer applicants must submit agreements and consideration, including price paid, while publication rules are drafted.
Bill 7, the Water Amendment Act, came into force on 11 March 2026. It is the first substantial Water Act amendment package in more than twenty-five years and reaches transfers, price transparency, and how watersheds are administered.
Section 81.1 requires applicants transferring allocation under Sections 81 to 83 to submit their transfer agreements and any consideration, including the price paid. Alberta Environment and Protected Areas is drafting the rules that will govern what becomes public from those submissions.
Until those publication rules are final, historical comparables remain the working reference for valuation questions. Municipal council minutes, irrigation district meeting packages, and ERV-verified authorizations continue to supply the disclosed record practitioners can cite today.
Water Register is indexing verified transfer prices and sold-archive cases so that, as Section 81.1 disclosures surface, firms already have a structured comparable set against which new filings can be read.
Sources
- Water Canada - Alberta Water Act updates come into effect
- CBC - Alberta river basins and Water Act changes
- Water Register Bill 7 reference guide
Related
Water Register restates publicly available information in a reference format. It is not legal, engineering, or regulatory advice. Transfer approval remains at the discretion of Alberta Environment and Protected Areas or the Alberta Energy Regulator. Verify all licence details against the Environmental Records Viewer before transaction decisions.