Long ago, when the ice cover thawed off the North America continent rivers like the Red Deer River would be miles across and crystal clear. Since the ice age ended, the Red Deer River has become dependant on glaciers and these are receding rapidly.
Through bad watershed management and the devastation of the pine beetle, the water levels are high in June but very low in February. The city of Red Deer and surrounding area now have very high water usage and if growth in residential and industry keeps growing, then in less than 10 years Red Deer will be under water restrictions as the demand on the Red Deer River will be too high.
As the City of Red Deer takes more water from the Red Deer River for the growing demand of population and industry, then there will be decreasing amounts of water flowing by the city. The water the city uses has chemicals added to cleanse before human consumption. Water being used for residential and industry will have additional chemicals and drugs absorbed in the water and these are next to impossible to get out. Water coming through the water treatment plant will have more chemicals added to break down waste and after this process, the water looks clear but will have toxins, pathogens and chemicals in its makeup.
Water used downstream of Red Deer will be dealing with a form of chemical cocktail and as these centers (namely Stettler and Drumheller) will also add chemicals to clean the water, at what level is it becoming risky to use?
We are told the water coming from our taps is perfectly safe but if they have problems removing sediments, then what chance do they have in removing pathogens and chemicals?
Stettler and Drumheller are now using water that come through the City of Red Deer’s treatment plant and this amount will increase as Red Deer’s usage increases. As water usage increases, the river may shrink enough that if a prolonged cold period were to occur then the river could easily freeze solid before reaching Stettler or Drumheller. All pipelines running out of Stettler or Drumheller could face problems with water.
In the past, governments in Alberta have poor track records on water management and compared to other jurisdictions they are years behind. I also became associated with the Wildrose Party and they had no agenda on water management.
Bottled and distilled water gives a false security because when we bathe, shower or swim, the human skin will absorb any contaminants present in water and it will enter the blood stream and the body will store some contaminants.
A system I have tried to promote over the years would see water diverted from another river and the logical choice would be the Clearwater River. This river is cleaner then the Red Deer River and also drains from deeper watershed in the mountains and is not used for human consumption. The ease of diverting waters from the Clearwater River into the Red Deer River is because the Clearwater River is in close proximity to the Raven River, which drains into the Red Deer River. Cost would not be that great as the Clearwater River and the Raven River are about five km apart near Caroline Alberta. This diversion would mean more water for Red Deer area, plus more water downstream for Stettler and Drumheller.
For the health of people, this diversion must be done.
Dave France
Stettler