The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is restricting water withdrawals for oil and gas operators in several river basins across the province due to extremely dry summer conditions and low water levels. Restrictions have been put in place for the Upper Athabasca Region but not the Lower Athabasca Region where several major oilsands companies operate.

The regulator is also asking oil and gas companies to voluntarily limit their water consumption for dry areas not currently under withdrawal bans.

The restrictions affect temporary diversion licences which grant oil and gas operators permission to use ground and river water for drilling, dust control and other purposes.

Oilsands majors Syncrude and Suncor, which use water to process bitumen, are exempt from the restrictions because they are situated in the Lower Athabasca Region. But due to special permits under Alberta’s Surface Water Quantity Management Framework, the restrictions wouldn't impact their operations ­— something onlookers are saying makes little sense in a region suffering the impacts of climate change.

Climate Change Limiting Water for Oilsands Operators, New Study Finds

According to a new article in the journal Climactic Change, climate change, induced by activities in the oilsands region, has the ability to limit streamflow in the Athabasca River Basin.

The reduced water flow will affect not only ecosystems, but also future oilsands operations, something the study’s authors, Doris Leong and Simon Donner, say industry and policy makers may need to consider going forward.

“The impact of climate change on streamflow of the Athabasca River Basin, and how that may create or exacerbate trade-offs between ecological and industry water needs, is largely absent from the discourse on future bitumen production.”

Oilsands operations are the biggest water users in the Athabasca River Basin and “surface water use demand is projected to rapidly increase” as that activity expands, Leong and Donner write.

The region is also ecologically sensitive, the authors argue, and provides “important nesting and staging areas and habitat for a diverse wildlife population.”

The Athabasca River is a tributary of the Mackenzie, Canada’s longest river. The Mackenzie River Basin is considered Canada’s “Serengeti” due to its high levels of biodiversity and ecological productivity.

The region is considered a valuable carbon sink but is undergoing significant changes due to climate change. An international panel of experts found thawing permafrost, drying peatlands and wildfires are releasing large volumes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Major Oilsands Developers Syncrude and Suncor Exempt from Restrictions

According to Jesse Cardinal, from the environmental non-profit group Keepers of the Athabasca, low water levels in the region are expect to increase as a result of climate change.

“Science is predicting that it will become more common to have low water levels,” she said. “However only some companies are restricted on water use.”

Cardinal said Suncor, Syncrude and Shell can “continue taking as much water as they want.” AER spokesman Jordan Fitzgerald told the Edmonton Journal the new restrictions don't apply to these companies as their "operations are located in the Lower Athabasca Region and the restrictions put in place by Alberta Environment and Parks do not apply to that area.”

But if restrictions were extended to the Lower Athabasca, these companies would remain exempt from water use limits.

During development of the province’s current water use rules, Suncor and Syncrude insisted on the “seniority of their water licences,” according to Simon Dyer from the Pembina Institute.

The companies argued “their reliance on old infrastructure should allow them to continue to withdraw water from the Lower Athabasca River, no matter how low the flow gets,” Dyer said in a letter to Alberta Environment.

Dyer argued the province should implement absolute water restrictions to protect ecosystems that rely on rivers like the Athabasca during times of extremely low flow.

Dyer said Alberta’s failure to place water withdrawal limits on Suncor and Syncrude means the province holds the companies “to a lower environmental standard…putting at risk the aquatic ecosystem of one of Alberta’s most ecologically and culturally important rivers.”

In May as Alberta was overwhelmed by severe wildfires, Keepers of the Athabasca asked the province’s new NDP government to review the water use rules.

The group argued water rules are based “on our once vibrant past when water was plentiful.”

Cardinal said the low flow of Alberta’s rivers isn’t just about water quantity, it’s also about water quality.

“Everywhere in Alberta, we are experiencing dry conditions, meaning the quality of our drinking water is more fragile, the fish, and ultimately life.”

Giving unrestricted water rights to major companies “compromises community health and treaty rights and gives corporations first rights to water over communities and living beings,” she said.

Image Credit: Pembina Institute

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Conservation group Keepers of the Athabasca is asking the Alberta government to review water usage rules for oilsands companies as the province struggles with unseasonably low water levels and raging wild fires.

Current rules set out under the Surface Water Quantity Management Framework allow two oilsands majors, Suncor and Syncrude, to continue water withdrawals for their operations even when water levels are extremely low. All other oilsands operators are required to abide by set limits.

Alberta is currently fighting 65 forest fires, some near oilsands projects, that are being fueled by extremely dry conditions. Twenty fires are currently considered “out of control.” This week the government initiated a province-wide fire ban. Water bombers are currently being used to suppress the flames.

“Due to little snowfall and almost no rain so far this spring, there has been little run off into the lakes, rivers and streams,” Jesse Cardinal from Keepers of the Athabasca said. “Add in the major forest fires actively being fought around the province, and water is simply in great demand at this time.”

Cardinal is asking the province if oilsands companies are required to slow production and water withdrawals from the Athabasca River in the face of low levels.

According to Simon Dyer from the Pembina Institute, Suncor and Syncrude insisted on the “seniority of their water licences” during development of the current water use rules.

The two companies argued “their reliance on old infrastructure should allow them to continue to withdraw water from the Lower Athabasca River, no matter how low the flow gets,” Dyer wrote in a letter to Alberta Environment.    

Dyer recommended the province implement a strong ecosystem limit that would place absolute restrictions — for all oilsands operators — on water withdrawal during low flow.

The provincial government ultimately declined to place a zero-withdrawal limit on the two companies and, according to Dyer, “continues to hold Syncrude and Suncor to a lower environmental standard…putting at risk the aquatic ecosystem of one of Alberta’s most ecologically and culturally important rivers.”

The Keepers of the Athabasca want to know if the NDP will consider revising water use rules in light of extreme conditions induced by climate change. The group argues current rules are based “on our once vibrant past when water was plentiful.”

The limits placed on water withdrawals were also designed to protect aboriginal use of the Athabasca River for navigation and traditional activities. But according to John Rigney, resident of Fort Chipewyan, the water levels are too low to support traditional hunting.

“Spring hunts have been very poor due to poor navigation on the river — we simply cannot get to our hunting spots because the water levels are so low in certain areas.”

Rigney added the remote community of Fort Chipewyan is also facing difficulty importing food and supplies.

“We are a community that needs our supplies barged in and flown in,” he said. “This time of year they’re mostly barged in, but that is not happening right now, as the barge can’t navigate, as water levels are so low.”

Image Credit: Twitter

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