An oil sands extraction facility is reflected in a tailings pond near the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta on June 1, 2014.
The amount of water Alberta allocates to its oil and gas industry has grown by more than 70 per cent since 2009, according to provincial data.The amount of water Alberta allocates to its oil and gas industry has grown by more than 70 per cent since 2009, according to provincial data.shows that oil and gas now accounts for nearly 11 per cent of all water allocation, up from 6.2 per cent in 2009.
Yet the nature of the industry raises questions — how much of a precious resource should Alberta allocate to producing hydrocarbons, the primary driver of global warming and climate change? According to the AER, from 2013 to 2022, nonsaline water use intensity — which measures the amount of water used per barrel of oil equivalent produced — increased by 260 per cent for hydraulic fracturing., from separating bitumen from sand and clay, to flushing out oil from older conventional wells, or for spraying unpaved roads to keep dust down.doesn't explore the role that fossil fuel production and combustion play in climate change.
Those range from the loss of wetlands — which are not only crucial ecosystems but also filter water and serve as buffers for wildfires — to contamination of water systems, which is exacerbated by reduced water levels due to industry consumption. In an emailed statement, Ryan Fournier, press secretary for Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, noted that the vast majority of water used by oil and gas is in northern regions "where water supply far exceeds allocated use for all purposes.Fournier said it's common for actual water use to be less than the allocated amount.
In response to a question about whether there was a conflict in increasing water allocation to an industry that significantly contributes to climate change — and thus more frequent and severe droughts, among other effects — Wong pointed to the economic benefits of oil and gas.
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