August 21, 2020

MEDIA RELEASE

SWIMMING FOR SOUTHERN ALBERTA’S HEADWATERS

Nichole Robinson, 26, is swimming across the Oldman Reservoir on Saturday, August 22 to alert the public of impacts to drinking water from open pit coal mines proposed in the Eastern Slopes (between Blairmore and Chain Lakes).

The Lethbridge resident’s goal is to draw awareness to the implications of the Alberta government’s decision to rescind the Coal Policy and its associated environmental protections. Nichole notes that Lethbridge receives 100% of its water from the Oldman River watershed.  The headwaters of the Oldman River are located in the previously protected area that is now slated for open pit coal mining.

“My biggest frustration with this, is the lack of public consultation that went on before these decisions were made, decisions that will have such serious implications for so many Albertans. So many people don’t even know what has happened. I wanted to make people more aware of these issues and figured that swimming across the Oldman River was an opportunity to draw attention to the risk to our clean drinking water.” she said.

“For us to have access to these amazing sources of freshwater, we can fish in them, drink from them, even swim in them, not many places around the world have that. But it’s scary that the government is willing to give this resource up for short-sighted projects that come with permanent and irreversible impacts, far beyond the 20 to 30-year lifespans of these mines,” Nichole said.

Nichole holds a degree in environmental science and is well aware of the risks that open pit coal mining poses to the environment, wildlife and the water this region depends on.

Southern Alberta is a water constrained region which regularly undergoes long periods of drought. “These watersheds are already essentially maxed-out, there is such high demand and relatively little water available.” Because of this water scarcity, no new water licenses have been issued in years. All new users must purchase water licenses from existing holders or find alternative sources.

“Coal mines require huge amounts of water to operate. We are talking about the potential to have massive open pit coal mines, that’s water that isn’t going to be available to anyone else.” she said.

Nichole is especially worried about the water quality. Just across the border in British Columbia, Teck Resources operates four large open pit coal mines and despite pumping millions of dollars into water treatment efforts, continues to have serious problems with selenium leaching into the Elk River System.  Downstream of one of the mines, endangered westslope cutthroat trout populations have been decimated and in the town of Sparwood, water wells have been contaminated.

“We depend on the Oldman River for our drinking water,” she said. “Everything we’ve learned from these existing mines, tells us there is currently no proven way to prevent selenium from open pit mining from leaching into the water system, and not a single one has been successful in fully removing it.  People need to know that.” Nichole stated.

Nichole is hoping people will come out to support her on Saturday, but most of all, that this will inspire others to get educated about the issues and take action. “It’s worth it to me if it makes even a few more people aware of these risks,” she says.

She estimates that, depending on the weather conditions, it will take about six to seven hours to swim the approximately 15-kilometre distance across the Oldman Reservoir.

Nichole is urging others to take the time to speak to their provincial government representatives and contact the federal and provincial departments of the environment to ask for change.

“Sometimes, especially as young people, it’s easy to be complacent with these decisions, to feel like your voice is insignificant.  But we all have a responsibility to start thinking seriously about we want our future to look like here. Get involved, speak up, because together, our voices mean something.”