Fracking Frenzy Worsens Water Crisis in Alberta's Drought-Stricken Regions

Ranchers and residents in central Alberta are concerned about the amount of water being used for fracking in a region struggling with years of dry weather and drought.

Assar Grinde, a cattle rancher who studied geology at the University of Alberta, has been fighting against oil and gas companies using vast quantities of fresh groundwater from the same source as drinking water wells. He says promises made by those companies have rarely been kept.

The Blindman River, which runs through the land Grinde's family has ranched for generations, dried up three years ago due to the oil and gas industry's water usage. Grinde helped found the Blindman River Watershed Society and dove into the labyrinth of data used by the Alberta Energy Regulator.

Grinde says the minimum flows established by the province to determine when a company can pull river water for fracking are too low, and that companies are responsible for measuring flow if there is no station nearby. He wants the government to prevent oil and gas companies from accessing shallow fresh groundwater for fracking.