In conversations with Environment Alberta public servants (water resources) the topic of water quality being quite concerning on the Medicine River (tributary of the Red Deer River) talk of other streams and rivers that are even in worse shape than the Medicine River came up. In 2011 the Milk River located in Southern Alberta for instance also had an advisory involving water quality issues on it as well. It is high time Alberta stopped using our main stem streams for large scale logistical movement of water usage to satisfy municipalities located in distant sub-basins, via de-watering targeted arteries and main stem rivers.

Or as dumping grounds for our agricultural, industrial and municipal bi-products by using steadily reduced stream flows to assimilate the disposal of unwanted waste products. It is not only the discharging of bi-products that is cumulatively harmful it also the streamside runoff and agricultural leeching that is also thrown into the mix that intensifies the already bad situation. Our group has it from reliable sources that employees at the Anthony Henday water treatment plant are taking readings almost weekly on the Medicine River and the Little Red Deer River is probably at least as much of a concern.

Currently underway is a project that twins two 20” pipelines from the Anthony Henday Water Treatment Plant over to the county of Olds.  One is transporting water from the Red Deer River over to the town of Olds into another sub basin that leaves the Red Deer River system perpetually for ever. The other pipeline twining the water line is transporting Olds cut sewage back in to the Red Deer River which the province has simultaneously reduced flows and increased water quality issues. These practices have to stop and other alternatives used to solve population growth issues.

The Premier Alison Redford embraces massive economic growth which brings with it massive populations spikes in a forced constrained time period. This activates massive infrastructure pressures not only with healthcare facilities, or school buildings alone there will be the need for large scale industrial and residential home building. It will impact our water resources infrastructure in a colossal manner and 98% of these watersheds and water bodies are already over allocated and some are on critical overload.

Many say our aquatic insect population impacts are from the 2005 flood that may be so, but an even larger impact is water quality issues. Take a look at the charts on the Medicine River alone the heaviest loads of nitrate/nitrite concentrations, phosphorous concentrations, E.coli, fecal coliforms counts have all elevated in a dynamic manner since the year 2000. This is when both the diversity and density of insect hatches began annually dropping off at an alarming rate from the confluence of the medicine river down on past the City of Red Deer.  Similar activity is appearing on the Bow River below Calgary and the Crowsnest River down south.

Some aquatic insect hatches have had hatch densities drop off and the duration of the hatch shorten up drastically from say from 3 weeks to a matter of several days. Some hatches now spatter off dismally for a few days and drop off entirely. We have even lost some entire insect species which is very concerning.

Unfortunately this affects match the hatch fishing in a very negative manner, it affects the overall physical conditioning factor of the fish residing in these systems as well. It also is very disappointing to anglers that travel long distances to say the Bow River or the Crowsnest that have had a long-standing passion for fishing the film and matching insect activity at the stream surface and in the film. Many of these anglers are so disappointed they are going to Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Montana where they still have environmental habitat and water sheds that support great trout numbers along with great insect hatches.

In a political system that understands the benefits of fly-fishing tourism and the economically renewable and sustainable form of revenue base that is possible. The state of Montana realized an economic revenue base of 6.8 billion annually for the 6 or so years following the release of the movie “A River Runs through it”. In 1996 the United States realized an economic revenue base of 108 billion dollars in spin off from fishing related product sales. These are not puny insignificant dollar values we are citing here. The province, cities and rural water treatment plants cannot use water treatment as a bandage for a gaping wound. Sooner or later the province will have to deal with the source of the concerns (de-watering and contamination) it need not even be said that these issues should have been done a long time ago. Long before the province even looks at the massive influx of workers and residential population spikes they speak of that are required in order to feed the tar sands and an economic engine they seem to feel needs to run all cylinders these issues need to be assessed and dealt with.