Water News
Alberta Water News is a free, subscription-based service that provides the latest information on water news across Alberta and upcoming events.
The news is distributed weekly on Mondays via a collated email and Monday to Friday via WaterPortal social media (X was Twitter). Please note that news will not be distributed on Holiday Mondays and will be released the following Tuesday.
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Compare and Contrast: ‘We can’t drink oil’: how a 70-year-old pipeline imperils the Great Lakes
The Guardian
It’s little known to the throngs of tourists who gawp at the wonder of the Great Lakes but at the meeting point of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, a combined system that forms the largest lake in the world, there is a 70-year-old pipeline, battered and dented by dropped boat anchors. Click here to continue reading
Lethbridge closes Elma Groves storm pond, Chinook Lake to mitigate goldfish population
CTV News
The City of Lethbridge is closing Chinook Lake and Elma Groves storm pond in order to continue its efforts to mitigate the goldfish population in both. Both bodies of water will be treated with Rotenone, which the city says is a “naturally-derived compound with a short half-life, meaning it will not remain in the water system for long and does pose threat to anything other than fish,” according to the city’s website. Click here to continue reading
Rocky Mountain House to get $30-million wastewater plant
Red Deer Advocate
Rocky Mountain House and Clearwater County have teamed up to build a $30-million wastewater treatment plant outfitted with the latest technology and able to support decades of population growth. Click here to continue reading
Monitoring Alberta’s wastewater could help drug users avoid harm. Here’s how.
CBC News
A Calgary research facility that developed the most comprehensive wastewater monitoring program in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic is setting its sights on another burgeoning public health issue: illicit drug use. Advancing Canada Water Assets (ACWA), a joint initiative between the City of Calgary and the University of Calgary, is applying the same techniques it used to monitor COVID-19 case numbers to track illicit drugs in the province’s wastewater. Click here to continue reading
Every fish in B.C.’s Emerald Lake may have to be killed after signs of rare parasite detected
CBC News
Researchers say every fish in B.C.’s Emerald Lake may have to be “sacrificed” after the discovery of a rare parasite in the water. But first, more testing needs to be done. Parks Canada says it is investigating a suspected case of whirling disease in Yoho National Park’s Emerald Lake. The disease is a microscopic parasite that affects trout and salmon, and can cause infected fish to swim in a whirling pattern and die prematurely. Click here to continue reading
Compare and Contrast: Tropical storm Ophelia makes landfall, as coastal North Carolina hit by flooding
CBC News
Residents in parts of coastal North Carolina and Virginia experienced flooding on Saturday after tropical storm Ophelia made landfall near a North Carolina barrier island, bringing rain, damaging winds and dangerous surges of water. Click here to continue reading
Bow River stream flows at record low; historic glacial melt recorded in Rockies
Global News
Autumn is casting its signature hue across the Rockies. As tourists flock to its peaks and valleys to witness the splendor of one season dying and another beginning, others are zeroing in with great concern on the shrinking rivers. Click here to continue reading
Why Calgary’s drinking water is tasting icky
Calgary Herald
You may wonder why your water is suddenly tasting moldy. This unpleasant taste may follow you into the shower, your workplace, gym or college campus. You may have also been losing sleep over thoughts of contaminated water affecting your health. But the reality is nowhere near as dangerous as it seems. City officials say the cause of your worry is geosmin, a “harmless” naturally occurring carbon compound that usually makes its way into Calgary’s reservoirs in late summer or fall. Click here to continue reading
Money, power and an ecosystem are all at stake in Canada-U.S. negotiations over a massive river
CBC News
Walk along the banks of the Columbia River in B.C. and you might be forgiven for thinking it’s like any of the province’s other big waterways. You might spot a sturgeon, or glimpse one of the more than 60 dams in the Columbia’s watershed. But the Columbia is not like other rivers. For one, it crosses the U.S. border to empty into the Pacific in Oregon. The Columbia River basin is also a vital source of electricity, providing about 40 per cent of all U.S. hydroelectric power, while B.C. draws almost half of its total electrical generation from the region. Click here to continue reading
New method for purifying drinking water could be used in disaster zones
Science Daily
Scientists have developed a new method that converts seawater into drinking water that could be useful in disaster zones where there is limited electrical power. The most popular method for removing salt (sodium chloride) from sea water is reverse osmosis, which uses a porous membrane that allows water molecules through but not salt. Click here to continue reading