A WestNet News investigation has found that industrial facilities operating under valid Alberta Environment and Protected Areas permits are discharging pollutants into Bow River tributaries at levels that exceed Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) water quality guidelines, raising questions about the adequacy of provincial monitoring and enforcement.
The investigation, based on a review of more than 2,400 pages of government monitoring records obtained through freedom-of-information requests, found that at least four permitted discharge sites along Nose Creek and West Nose Creek showed elevated levels of total suspended solids, phosphorus, and in two cases, heavy metals including selenium and arsenic.
Permits vs. Reality
"The permits set allowable discharge limits, but those limits were written years ago based on outdated science," said Dr. Sarah Elmeligi, a freshwater ecologist at the University of Calgary. "What’s legally permitted isn’t necessarily what’s ecologically safe, especially in a watershed that serves 1.4 million people as a drinking water source."
Alberta Environment spokesperson Daniel Grant said the ministry "takes water quality seriously" and that all permit holders are subject to regular compliance inspections. However, ministry records show that two of the four facilities in question had not been inspected in over 18 months.
Community Concerns
Residents in the Nose Creek watershed have raised concerns about water quality for years. The Nose Creek Watershed Partnership, a community-based monitoring group, said their own sampling has shown deteriorating conditions at several points along the creek.
"We’ve been flagging this data to the province for three years," said partnership coordinator Jim Burrows. "The response has been that everything is within permit limits. But the permits themselves are the problem."
The investigation has prompted calls from opposition MLAs for a comprehensive review of industrial water discharge permits across the Bow River basin. Environment critic Marlin Schmidt said the NDP will introduce a motion in the spring sitting calling for an independent audit of permit compliance.