Water

Fact: Water in the area is closely monitored.

  • The Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP) is the multiparty environmental monitoring program that assesses the health of rivers and lakes in the region.
  • RAMP has concluded that there has been no significant impact from oil sands development on the Athabasca River. RAMP’s information and technical reports may be reviewed on its website www.ramp-alberta.org/RAMP.aspx.
  • The quality of the surface waters in the region has always been impacted by the naturally occurring bitumen from the ground. Ground water that has been in natural contact with oil sands seeps naturally into local rivers and has done so for millennia. 
  • Aboriginal people first discovered the oil sands as they observed bitumen flowing directly into rivers and other water bodies in the region.  European explorers also remarked how the oil sands interacted directly with surface water.

Fact: Much more of the flow of rivers outside the region are allocated for use when compared to the Athabasca River.

  • The Athabasca River has one of the lowest water allocations of any river in Alberta and one of the largest flows.
  • The total annual allocation of water from the Athabasca River for all uses (e.g. municipal, industrial and oil sands) is less than 3.2 per cent of flow, compared to:
    • 37 per cent North Saskatchewan River (Edmonton)
    • 60 per cent Oldman River (Southern Alberta)
    • 65 per cent Bow River (Calgary)

Fact: The industry limits its use of fresh water and relies heavily on recycled water for its operations.

  • Up to 95 per cent of the water used for in-situ oil sands extraction is recycled while over 85 per cent of that used for surface mining is recycled.
  • Remaining portions of water that cannot be recycled return to the hydrological cycle through evaporation as steam from facilities and ground absorption.
  • Current oil sands mining projects use about one per cent of the total annual water flow of the Athabasca River.  
  • Should all existing, approved and announced oil sands projects proceed, industry would use 2 per cent of the Athabasca river flow.
  • Industry’s withdrawal of water from the Athabasca River is capped during periods of low river flow to protect the aquatic ecosystem.
  • Research on drier tailings is aimed at reducing the amount of water used and increasing water recycling.

Fact: In-situ operations also require water but are using less than ever before.

  • For in-situ projects, the largest use of water is for generating steam to be injected into the underground ore body, providing the necessary heat to loosen and extract bitumen.
  • The water used to make steam is primarily drawn from underground aquifers. In most cases, it is saline or brackish, non-potable water.
  • In-situ water technology has improved considerably, and in some cases, water use is one-seventh of what it was 20 years ago.
  • Up to 95 per cent of the water used by in-situ operations is recycled.

Facts sourced by Oil Sands Developers Group (Summer 2010).

Sources for all facts available upon request.

 

Environment

Did you know...

Canada’s oil reserves are second in the world behind Saudi Arabia

Of 179 billion barrels of Canada’s oil reserves, the oil sands represent 97 per cent

For each permanent oil sands-related job, nine additional direct, indirect and induced jobs are created in Canada.

Currently 240,000 jobs in Canada are directly or indirectly linked to the oil sands.

Between 2000 and 2020, oil sands development has the potential to generate at least $123 billion in royalty and tax revenues for Canada’s federal and provincial governments.

The oil sands currently account for only 4.6 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is less than 0.1 per cent of total global emissions.

Alberta was the first jurisdiction in North America to legislate industrial greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Producers have made great strides in reducing the amount of emissions per barrel of bitumen extracted from the oil sands. The equivalent of 2.6 million tonnes of reductions have been made – the same as taking more than 550,000 cars off the road.

The province of Alberta has committed $4 billion toward climate change initiatives, including $2 billion for public transit and $2 billion for carbon capture and storage (CCS). This is the largest CCS investment in the world.

Air quality around oil sands operations is better than all North American cities reviewed by the Alberta Clean Air Strategic Alliance.

Alberta air quality standards are the most stringent in Canada.

Air quality in Fort McMurray is monitored around the clock. Results are available at the WBEA site.

Air quality has been extensively modeled and demonstrated to remain within Alberta’s strict air quality guidelines even with all projected oil sands development in place.

Oil sands are located below the surface of 140,200 square kilometres of land, 4.5 per cent of Canada’s total boreal forest.

Mineable oil sands only exist under 0.1 per cent of Canada’s total boreal forest.

While disturbance is occurring daily, in more than 40 years oil sands mining has disturbed about one hundredth of one per cent of the Canadian boreal forest – some 500 square kilometres.

Since 2001, coordinated efforts between government and industry through Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) activities have reduced land surface disturbance in the region by 20 per cent.

As required by law, and included in all project approvals, reclamation work is ongoing and continuous in the oil sands. All lands disturbed by oil sands will be reclaimed.

Mining is only an option for oil sands that sit less than 75 metres under the surface.

More than 80 per cent of the oil sands will be developed using in-situ technologies.

In-situ projects resemble conventional oil development and do not require tailings ponds, or mine pits.

In-situ operations create linear disturbance of the surface for wellheads. But new technology and processes, including low-impact seismic and directional drilling, are reducing that footprint.

In Alberta, Alberta Environment regulates oil and gas industry water use under the Water Act. Oil and gas companies are subject to the same conditions for use as any other licensed water user in Alberta.

Currently, the oil sands industry draws less than half the water allocation allowed by Alberta Environment from the Athabasca River.

Water allocations are strictly controlled during low flow periods.

More than 80 per cent of water drawn by industry from the Athabasca is recycled.

Non-potable water which is unsuitable for drinking, livestock or irrigation use is used wherever possible for in-situ production.

Alberta Environment prohibits the release of any water to the Athabasca River that does not meet water quality requirements.

RAMP, a multi-stakeholder body, conducts annual monitoring of the river’s fish species, fish habitat and water quality. The monitoring has not detected significant changes to the Athabasca River. www.ramp-alberta.org

Bitumen from exposed oil sands along the river banks has seeped naturally into the Athabasca River as it cut its way through the landscape.

Tailings contain the water, residual bitumen, sand and clay that is left over when the bitumen is separated from the sand.

In the ponds, the solids separate from the water so the water may be recycled into the process again. Of the total water used by oil sands mines, 80 per cent is recycled.

During and after mining, the tailings ponds are reclaimed. No tailings water is released to the Athabasca River or any other watercourse.

The first tailings ponds will be reclaimed in 2010.

80 per cent of the oil sands resource will be developed using in-situ technology which does not require tailings ponds.

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