Alberta moves to export water!

[cyberclark]

Recently there were two news items. Drumheller Alberta and Okotoks Alberta purchased water allotments. The first was from an unnamed party (insider) the other was from an Oil Company. The latter cost Okotoks over a million dollars for rights to some 230,000 cubic meters of water annually.

Water allotments have never been sold. The oil companies received them free of charge as did the unnamed insider. Why then the sale?

Bolstered by the Alberta Government the towns had to pay up. This adds many dollars to the resource and forces the price of water utilities way up. When it comes time to export, they will tell Albertans the cost is the same. Edmonton now has the highest water prices in the world (National Geographic April 2010).

Following the long standing Conservative dream of including water into NAFTA and changing bulk water to a commodity is fore front in their plans.

If we export water under NAFTA rules, we must give the Americans first chance at the water and we cannot charge the Americans more money than we are now paying. When it comes time to export, people in Alberta will be paying the same or more money than those people in California who are the targeted export market.

Meanwhile TV is carrying subtle advertisements in fill in spots saying our water is our finest resource and it must be shared.

All this ties in with the new dam being built on the Peace by BC.

Dig in folks; if they get away with this it will be rough!

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

No bulk water sales.

 

[cyberclark]

As a PS:
The Government set this up by giving oil companies many times more water than they needed!

 

[Johnnny]

im still trying to figure out where the beach is in alberta

 

[Ron in Regina]

Meanwhile TV is carrying subtle advertisements in fill in spots saying our water is our finest resource and it must be shared....

Uhmm....who's sponsoring these TV commercials? Just curious in a "follow the
money" sort'a way.
​

 

[Mowich]

I googled this cyberclark as I wasn't aware of it happening. My interest is always perked when I hear anything about Canada/Provinces selling anything more than bulk water. The Alberta government is extremely shortsighted and shows a real disconnect with the facts about world wide water shortages. This decision has far reaching effects well beyond Alberta's borders. They better not look this way when their wells run dry. Alberta has a bad environmental record but this move is beyond stupid.

Got Thirst? : What other's are saying

 

[cyberclark]

If the Conservatives are allowed to rule Ottawa and Canada it is as good as a done deal! Some time ago the Conservative Party of Canada went before the committee of the Privy Council trying to get Bulk Water included in NAFTA.

The ruling was No, NAFTA did not include Bulk Water Export.

The Conservative party of Canada said they would wait their time and a different venue to pursue.

 

[petros]

Drinking water or industrial water?

 

[cyberclark]

Bulk water sales; as in potable (drinking) water.

 

[Hamlet]

Selling water brings ups a couple questions.
1) Should water be considered a commodity?
2) If water should not be sold, what are the reasons?
3) If water is sold, who should set the terms? Province or feds?
4) If water is sold, should it be treated no differently than any other commodity? (Grain, beef, timber, minerals, etc. where X dollars buys X amount of a commodity) Or should water resources be tied into something else as well? (Territorial concessions, i.e. U.S. recognizes Canadian Arctic Sovereignty, Northwest Passage, etc., or receiving preferential trading practices, etc., or something else entirely?

 

[Bar Sinister]

im still trying to figure out where the beach is in alberta

You've never heard of Alberta Beach?
Alberta Beach Accommodations - Alberta Beach Alberta Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Bed and Breakfasts, Campgrounds Alberta Beach - Alberta Beach AB Motel

So far as the post is concerned, there are two limitations.
1. Alberta barely has enough water for itself. Alberta has the lowest level of water resources in Canada except perhaps for the much smaller provinces of NB, NS, and PEI.
2. Exports of anything must receive federal approval. Selling water to anyone is not yet on the federal agenda and would probably be fought by most Canadians if is was.

 

[wulfie68]

A couple things to note:

- water used by the oil companies is used to replace the fluid (oil) pumped out of the reservoirs to keep the pressure in the reservoirs higher, allowing them to get more oil out of the reservoirs. They won't be exporting it.
- water used by the oil companies can be but isn't limited to surface/potable ground water aquifers. The regulatory bodies in Alberta, especially in the last decade or two have leaned more and more on the oil companies to use deeper aquifers that are non-potable.
- there are bottled water companies already in Canada that are allowed to export water, not just in Alberta. They usually operate as subsidiarys of Pepsi and Coca Cola bottlers but there are some other independent companies.

 

[cyberclark]

Oil companies have long passed up the lower, unpotable aquifer as being too expensive. It lays generally at the 4000 foot level.

The bottled water companies are selling bottled water which is and has been legal. What is not legal is the export of bulk water. Bulk water is quantities equal to or greater than 1 cubic meter. Yet, tanker trucks of water are still going across the border one what kind of permit, I don't know.

Coca Cola owns most of the aquifer water in Calgary. Calgary city owns only surface water supplied by glacial flow. Soon enough Calgary will be buying their water off Coke. All this thanks to Ralph Klein.

The water allowances given to oil companies are many times greater than their needs. This, is extra is what they will be selling to the communities to drive up the water prices and pocket change for the insiders.

The fresh water that goes down hole never, ever is used again.
------
The Weatherford project is a fully engineered water movement from the Peace River. It was done by the Conservatives in the 80s and is very valid and ready to go today if need be. This ties in with the meeting with BC and the subsequent announcement of a new dam on the Peace River.

Letter sent to the Minister November 10-2003.


The Honorable Dr. Lorne Taylor,
Minister of Environment,
Government of Alberta.

Your recent comments quoted in the ‘Journal indicate you are about to move people to the water, rather than water to the people.

I have cause to wonder if this is just “chewing gum for the mind”!

The Alberta Government is presently involved in moving potable water from the St. Mary’s irrigation system in southern Alberta by pipe line into Montana. This, going against the wishes of local ranchers and stakeholders! The water is being used for water in a recreation area in Montana as well as for drinking.

What is the name of the Minister who put this project into place?

Who paid for the materials in the pipeline?

What is the diameter of the line?

Where are the lift stations and who pays for them?

What is the annual quantity of water exported from this drought area?

Why is this not considered illegal?

Does the Alberta Government bill for the charges directly or has this been turned over to a private company to operate at their convenience? If so, what is the name and address of this company?

In the ‘80s the Alberta Government commissioned a study by Weatherford on moving water from the Peace River into Southern Alberta, using it to irrigate the pipeline corridor and export huge amounts into the American northern states.

This plan calls for an immense pipe line capable of moving two-thirds of the Peace River Flow through the pipe along with the assurances it will not harm the wild life. This same plan calls for 8 lift stations to move the water; each of them using the electrical power of a small city.

Further, this plan was approved, only shelved, until the weather gets dry enough and the public can see the light. It is my understanding this project has been given recent notice and review. How far along is this plan?

Lastly the CBC documentary we corresponded about. Your Senior Hydrologist confirmed there would be no saline discharges at the “pristine” Alberta location shown in that documentary so it would be impossible to get the Montana situation at that site. It ignores the fact that Montana situations exist in other parts of Alberta and BC. The CBC documentary was grossly misleading to say the least and, I know they are capable of better. So, the question comes. Did the Alberta Government subsidize or otherwise pay the CBC to produce that program?

 

[petros]

If they keep fracking there will be very little potable ground water in AB.

 

[cyberclark]

You hit the nail on the head: Coal bed methane lies below the water table. To access the methane multi holes must be punched through the aquifer. Two problems arise. First the migration of heavy metals upwards through these holes into the drinking aquifer a serious and unrecoverable contamination.

Secondly the cementing of older wells is found to be decaying thus opening older wells unsupervised. The extent of the damage is not known. In the recent past Alberta has pushed a make work program for the oil industry to patch up these old wells but, there have been no public releases as to the success or lack of it.

 

[bill barilko]

Interesting developments-Thanks for keeping us informed.

 

[cdarro]

There have been tentative plans to export bulk water for at least 45 years. Google NAWAPA (North American Water And Power Alliance). The earliest proposal I`m aware of came from the Ralph (?) M. Parsons Company, an engineering firm from Los Angeles in 1964. It goes far beyond anything currently being envisioned.

 

[cyberclark]

Astute and accurate; thanks. Things that pop into my mind are the export lobbies to move ice burgs from Canada to California. That failed and as I recall they jumped onto fresh water where ever they could find it.

It is a long term game by Conservatives and it appears it is coming to full fledged.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

Exporting bulk water is exporting jobs. When we export grain or food, what is being exported is water, and we get many jobs out of it. It makes about as much sense to export raw bitumen to let others process it into gasoline. They get the more skilled jobs and we are the drawers of water. Alberta is a politically primitive environment, supine to Dick Cheney and the military-industrial complex.

 

[cyberclark]

Alberta Conservatives have all but killed this province. With the royalty schemes falling again and again and the resources being sheared off with nothing going back to the province it is a huge loss. Even the heritage trust was stripped of all wealth above 4% then, anything above 4% was used as operational money.

They have cut support for universities to force kids through trade schools. Any kid educated in Alberta that somehow ends up in University is going to get killed because they do not have the high school support.

The wild rose party is of the same cut if not more extreme.


Albertan's are stuck on Conservative, that is being stuck on dumb.