At an annual general meeting in Lethbridge for the largest irrigation district in Canada, it's standing room only.

These AGMs for the St. Mary River Irrigation District, located in southern Alberta, are normally sleepy affairs. But this year is different as the province is staring down challenging drought conditions.

What's expected today is big news for the 200-odd people filing into the room, some wearing jackets bearing the names of their respective operations.

Semi-arid southern Alberta, which relies heavily on irrigation, is expected to be hit with particular challenges — and new data from Environment and Climate Change Canada paints a striking picture of Canada's Prairies.