In spite of water restrictions put in place by the provincial government oilsands companies are operating business as usual, and this has some residents in the area upset. The Alberta Energy Regulator recently suspended more than 70 temporary licenses and also restricted the permanent license use for many companies in the Upper Athabasca region. There are many companies in Alberta that draw water from the Athabasca River, whose water levels are at historic lows. Even as the water level drops the Lower Athabasca region has seen few restrictions on oilsands companies. According to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Syncrude, Shell, and Suncor the amount of water that the companies can withdraw from the river has not been reduced at all. Some believe that this is short sighted, and that steps should be taken to reduce the allowable water drawn from the Athabasca River because of the current low water levels.
The oilsands companies in the Wood Buffalo area have argued that water restrictions on the companies are not necessary. According to Erin Rees, the spokesperson for Suncor, “We will be closely monitoring the flow conditions and will respond accordingly.” Rees told the media that the water withdrawals by the company have gone down 57% in the last 8 years while production has increased considerably. Mike Hudema, the spokesperson for Greenpeace Canada, has questioned why some of the oilsands companies have begun lobbying against a reduction in the legal freshwater withdrawal limit from the Athabasca River. Hudema said “That’s a big question we need to raise with the government, and what we’ve been arguing for and what other First Nation communities have been asking for. There are times when companies are withdrawing well below their limits and other times when some companies get closer and closer to that threshold. What does that do to the river?”
