Alta oil sands could leave Sask. short of water: study

[gulfcoastliberal]

NAIROBI, Kenya (CP) - A study released Monday at the UN climate conference in Nairobi says voracious water consumption by Alberta's oil sands threatens the quality and quantity of water available to Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories through the Mackenzie River system.

Oil sands operations draw most of their water from the Athabasca River, a tributary of the Mackenzie, and most of the water used is not returned to the river, says the study by the Sage Foundation and World Wildlife Fund - Canada.

Water allocations by Alberta to oil sands projects on the Athabasca River now add up to 359 million cubic metres per year, twice the amount of water required for Calgary.

...

"Flows will be insufficient to satisfy the needs of oil sands production, as well as other industrial, commercial, agricultural, municipal and environmental users, including the biologically rich Peace Athabasca Delta."

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2006/11/13/2339259-cp.html

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. I said tar sands were not a viable option over two years ago

specifically because it turns fresh, life-giving water into dirty poisonous sludge.

nobody ever listens to me. :(

[gulfcoastliberal]

2. Yeap...

The study says that strip mining in the oil sands requires two to 4.5 cubic metres of water to extract one cubic metre of synthetic crude oil.

The water becomes heavily polluted in the process and only 10 per cent is returned to the river, with the rest held in huge storage ponds which are among the largest manmade structures on Earth.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2006/11/13/2339259-cp.html

[Botany]

3. and you put in almost as much energy in as you get out from the oil

n/t