Chris Powter Executive Director Research and Information Network School of Energy and the Environment University of

www.osrin.ualberta.ca

http://osemb.cemaonline.ca/rrdcSearch.aspx Why? Social Water is not only a resource, it is a life source. We all share the responsibility to ensure a healthy, secure, and sustainable water supply for our communities, environment, and economy – our quality of life depends on it. Facts about Water in Alberta (Government of Alberta 2010 – http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/6364.pdf )

Contaminated water poured from oil sands plant into Athabaska River for four hours Vancouver Sun (March 26, 2013) – http://www.vancouversun.com/business/energy/Polluted+water+poured+ from+oilsands+plant+into+Athabaska/8154566/story.html?__lsa=147c-0dbb

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 2 Clearwater River

Peace Athabasca Delta Wood Buffalo National Park

Winifred lake Cold Lake

Fort McKay Fort Fort McMurray NWT

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 3  Mining  Use, storage, discharge  In-situ  Use, disposal

Godwalt et al., 2010

OSRIN and CEAA, 2012

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 4 Law of Unintended Consequences

Discipline Integrated focus focus

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 5  Mining and in-situ  But don’t forget quarries and Fort McMurray!  Surface water, groundwater, wetlands and fisheries  Time  Historical (pre-disturbance) condition  Current state  Future – modeling / prediction / planning

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 6  IFN - Water Management Framework  Flow to NWT  Mining  Stream diversions  Withdrawal amount / timing  Recycle rate  In-situ  SOR  Roads and pads as dams

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 7  Athabasca River and tributaries

 Natural vs. oil sands seepage Gibson et al., 2011  Peace – Athabasca Delta  Regional lakes  Acidification  Hydrocarbons  Snow chemistry  Fish and other biota

http://blog.inmovies.ca/201 1/01/alberta-oil-sands-get- OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge ugly-close-up.html 8  Mining  Dewatering  Seepage rates  Re-establishment rate, level and quality after OSRIN and CEAA, 2012 reclamation  In-situ  Extraction  Injection  Groundwater – surface water interaction?

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 9  Oil sands process-affected water  Chemistry  Recycle  Leakage?  Solids release water  Tailings sand  Treated tailings (e.g., TRO)

Powter, 2012

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 10  Compensation lakes  29 pit lakes  With or without tailings  Fill water source / timing? Cumulative Environmental  Competing needs – e.g., water Management Association, 2012 on dump slopes  Wetlands / Fens  Reconstructed streams  Lease boundary reconciliation  Remove in-situ pads and roads? Syncrude Base Mine Lake  Beavers! OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 11  Process?  Criteria  Naphthenic acids?  Volumes?  Timing?  Where is it a “release” Oil Sands Water Release Technical Working  in lease? Group, 1996

 off-lease?

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 12  Surface water and groundwater quantity and quality  Biota  Federal – Provincial Monitoring Government of Canada and Government of Alberta, 2012  What do we do with historical data? OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 13  Regional solutions  OSPW to in-situ  Shared water treatment  Shared water storage  Alternative technologies  Electrical heating  Nuclear power  Solvent extraction  Climate change effects?  Once-through water?  Mine through rivers?

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 14 Questions?

OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 15  Cumulative Environmental Management Association, 2012. End pit lakes guidance document 2012. Cumulative Environmental Management Association, Fort McMurray, Alberta. 434 pp. http://cemaonline.ca/index.php/administration/doc_download/174-end-pit-lake-guidance-document

 Gibson, J.J., S.J. Birks, M. Moncur, Y. Yi, K. Tattrie, S. Jasechko, K. Richardson, and P. Eby, 2011. Isotopic and Geochemical Tracers for Fingerprinting Process-Affected Waters in the Oil Sands Industry: A Pilot Study. OSRIN Report No. TR-12. 109 pp.

 Godwalt, C., P. Kotecha and C. Aumann, 2010. Oil Sands Tailings Management Project. OSRIN Report No. TR-7. 64 pp.

 Government of Canada and Government of Alberta, 2012. Joint Canada Alberta implementation plan for oil sands monitoring. Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario and Government of Alberta, , Alberta. 27 pp. http://www.ec.gc.ca/Publications/47789FA4-67E0-4334-A850-15FFA1F8E8F2/COM1519_Final-OS- Plan_02.pdf

 Oil Sands Research and Information Network and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 2012. Summary of the Oil Sands Groundwater – Surface Water Interactions Workshop. OSRIN Report No. TR-22. 125 pp.

 Oil Sands Water Release Technical Working Group, 1996. Approaches to oil sands water releases. Alberta Environmental Protection, Edmonton, Alberta. 34 pp. http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/6839.pdf

 Powter, C., 2012. Oil sands tailings: A liquids problem or a solids problem?. IN: Sego, D., G.W. Wilson and N. Beier (Eds.), 2012. Proceedings of the Third International Oil Sands Tailings Conference. December 3-5, 2012, Edmonton, Alberta. University of Alberta, Geotechnical Center and Oil Sands Tailing Research Facility, Edmonton, Alberta. pp. 67-71. http://www.osrin.ualberta.ca/AboutOSRIN/~/media/Oil%20Sands%20Research%20and%20Information%20Net work/Documents/IOSTC_2012_Paper_-_Powter.pdf OSRIN Creating and Sharing Knowledge 16