1.8 billion litres

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Published on Thursday, 31 January 2019 07:04

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1.8 billion litres r1 Albertans have long lived with oil and gas, but water use is raising the ire of a group of citizens in Clearwater County ... View archive version Albertans have long lived with oil and gas. They work in it; they make their livings from it; they live next to it.

So when our Alberta reporter, Sharon Riley, started attending surface rights meetings in rural communities last fall, she was surprised to hear so many angry voices.

At one of these meetings, held at the Warburg Community Hall in November, there was a flurry of activity — and not just because it was curling night next door.

The Alberta Energy Regulator had sent representatives to talk to residents about industrial water use in the area. And many locals were furious.

There were questions. There were raised voices. There were flushed faces.

That’s where Sharon first met Clearwater County residents concerned with a plan to extract 1.8 billion litres of water from the Clearwater River, the sole source of drinking water for the City of Edmonton — a river one local, Evanthia, had looked out at from her kitchen window for 45 years.

The water would be used for fracking.

Evanthia and other residents had become extremely concerned about the consumptive nature of water in fracked wells — much of it is lost from the water cycle. Permanently.

The Narwhal sent Sharon and photographer Amber Bracken to visit Evanthia and other concerned Clearwater County residents in December.

This week, we have an in-depth feature for you about the struggles of Albertans who aren’t against oil and gas activity — but are still worried the industry isn't always adequately regulated.

And, of course, read on for much, much more!

Emma Gilchrist
Editor-in-chief, The Narwhal

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