Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
A spill of surface runoff from a containment pond at Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills oilsands site may have spanned more than a year, the Alberta Energy Regulator has announced. The regulator said that on Oct. 9, the energy company reported an “unplanned release” of around 662 cubic metres from the pond adjacent to Fort Hills into the Athabasca River.
Some researchers thought her team wouldn't even be able to detect an impact from the fires because the Athabasca River was already looking like tea before the fires. Heavy rains tend to send hot fudge-looking runoff from the land into the river, making it look like chocolate milk, she said. Arriving after the fires, Emelko said she could see that hot fudge-looking flow enter the Athabasca's waters as ash, likely carrying nutrients like phosphorous and carbon, made the water supply challenging for treatment processes. "Those [workers] were living in the water treatment plant, working hard to make sure that people could return to their homes and at least have safe water to drink," Emelko told Day 6 host Brent Bambury.
Flash flooding evacuation orders are in effect for two regions in Woodlands County, Alta., about 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, due to rising waters on the Athabasca River which is causing overland flooding. The order is in effect for residents in the Township Road 620A area along the Athabasca River, east of the hamlet of Fort Assiniboine and for the Flats Road area along the river. The orders came into effect Wednesday evening and require all residents to evacuate the area immediately. Rising waters are causing flooding and washing out roads and people have been advised to drive with caution and avoid impacted roads.
Flood watches remain in place for the McLeod River and Athabasca River at Whitecourt. Water levels on the two rivers are expected to peak Tuesday evening, putting low-lying areas of Whitecourt at risk. Jasper National Park has also been hit hard by recent rain and snow, resulting in road and trail closures and treacherous conditions. In a statement Monday officials said 100 mm of rain and 55 centimetres of snow had fallen in some locations and Maligne and Miette roads have been closed.
An industrial effluent spill won’t impact Whitecourt’s water supply, according to the town. Alberta Environment confirmed with the Whitecourt Star that it is investigating a wastewater treatment system overflow at Alberta Newsprint Company’s plant. “The safety and well-being of communities in the area is our top priority,” Alberta Environment Press Secretary Miguel Racin told the Star.
The N.W.T.'s environment minister says he only learned about a spill of nearly six million litres of water from a Suncor oilsands sediment pond into the Athabasca River when he received a call from the Globe and Mail. It's the second time the Alberta government has failed to notify the territory of a spill that could impact northern waters. It comes just weeks after news broke that Imperial Oil's Kearl mine had been leaking contaminated water for months.
Suncor has reported six million litres of water that exceed sediment guidelines have been released into the Athabasca River from a pond at its Fort Hills oilsands mine. "Suncor took action to stop the discharge system and the release has been stopped," said a note from the Alberta Energy Regulator sent to area First Nations on Monday. The note said the water is from a pond used to settle suspended solids in surface water that runs in from various parts of the site. The water has drained from muskeg, rock and soil overlaying the bitumen, material being stored for reclamation and other areas of the site that are undisturbed by mining.
Canada cultivates a misleadingly good reputation abroad. I would know; I moved here because of it. However, this advantageous position is increasingly under threat as Canada keeps putting industry interest over environmental stewardship. September 4th marked the second anniversary of when the international Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s (CEC) Factual Record documented overwhelming evidence that Canada’s oil sands tailings “ponds” are leaking toxic pollutants into groundwater and tributaries of the Athabasca River.
Canada's oil sands mining industry on Thursday outlined proposals to release treated water from tailings ponds into northern Alberta's Athabasca River, a move environmental groups say risks damaging one of the world's largest freshwater deltas. Unlike other extractive industries in Canada, oil sands firms are not allowed to release treated tailings water.
Releasing treated oilsands tailings into the environment isn't the only solution being considered to clean up the massive toxic ponds in northern Alberta, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says. Guilbeault said Wednesday that even though his government is developing regulations on how the tailings could be drained into the Athabasca River, other solutions are under review.
Releasing treated oilsands tailings into the environment isn't the only solution being considered to clean up the massive toxic ponds in northern Alberta, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says. Guilbeault said Wednesday that even though his government is developing regulations on how the tailings could be drained into the Athabasca River, other solutions are under review.
J. Paul Getty, the famous 20th-century American oil and gas tycoon, once noted: “If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.” That’s the sort of conundrum facing Albertans right now when it comes to the massive tailings ponds created by the province’s oilsands companies. Those ponds contain approximately 1.4 trillion litres of water, the equivalent of more than 560,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and it’s about to come rushing down the Athabasca River — one way or another.
