B.C., N.W.T sign historic deal to jointly manage Mackenzie River watershed

British Columbia and the Northwest Territories have reached an agreement to co-operatively manage the water that flows across their shared boundaries into the massive Mackenzie River Basin.

Environment ministers from the neighbouring jurisdictions met in Vancouver to sign the deal, which completes years of negotiations.

N.W.T. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger says the accord is only the second of its kind, after the territory signed a similar deal with Alberta in March.

Miltenberger says the agreement is especially crucial given the challenges posed by this past year's harrowing fire season and record-breaking drought.

B.C.'s Environment Minister Mary Polak says the deal foreshadows similar bilateral water management agreements in the works with the Alberta and Yukon governments.

The Mackenzie River watershed drains nearly 20 per cent of Canada's land mass into the Arctic Ocean, with tributaries that reach into B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.