Canadian Tar Sands Developments Stress Water Supplies, Quality

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Water is a major concern throughout Alberta. Three years of drought, along with a population boom that is stretching water supplies to the limit, prompted the provincial government to unveil a water strategy in 2003. It considers the growing demand for water by industry and people, and factors such as water pollution and drought.

Scientists David Schindler and Bill Donahue's recent research shows the amount of water flowing through the Athabasca River has declined 33 per cent since 1970, due to a combination of human and industrial activity and climate change. Other Prairie rivers have suffered similar, and sometimes much more dramatic, declines.

Their evidence underscores the importance of achieving the government's goal of improving the efficiency of water use by 30 per cent by 2015. Alberta Environment Minister Guy Boutilier expects all sectors in the province to achieve this reduction. But there is a focus on the oilsands sector because it is the fastest-growing industry.

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In Alberta in 2004, more than seven per cent of all water allocations was for the production of oil and gas, according to a report on the industry's use of water by the Pembina Institute, an environmental think-tank. The proportion of groundwater allocations is far higher, at 37 per cent. Currently, the government has given licences to companies for almost 6 per cent of the Athabasca River's low flow levels, according to Alberta Environment. The fee for submitting a licence application costs relatively little -- the first 75 million litres of water can be had for as little as $90, which covers administrative costs. Altogether, oilsands companies are licensed to take 395.7 billion litres a year from the Athabasca River, the equivalent of 395,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools. (Almost all of this water will not be returned to the river, but will end up in toxic tailings ponds.)

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http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=5739fbb5-6b86-410d-b949-6dfd606c27c7