The Town of Rimbey is joining other communities calling on the Alberta government to carefully consider its use of fresh water for fracking and oil and gas operations.

The town sponsored a successful motion at the Alberta Municipalities (ABMunis) fall convention in Edmonton, calling on the government to review its use of fresh water for fracking, with the goal of reducing reliance on fresh water sources in drought-stressed regions.

The motion passed with nearly 80 per cent support from delegates at the convention. ABMunis will now advocate for the request with the Alberta government.

Rimbey Mayor Rick Pankiw says it’s an issue of great concern to residents of the area.

“We’re concerned with the last 10 years of drought conditions, that we don’t want to see our aquifer being used for fracking,” he says. “We figure there’s better ways to do it than to use fresh water.”

The mayor suggests a possible alternative to fresh water would be wastewater.

Pankiw says the motion, which was seconded by the Town of Sylvan Lake, was well received by delegates.

Rimbey has been working with the Medicine River Watershed Society to raise awareness of the issue.

The mayor clarified that he is not against oil and gas development, but against the use of what he calls “ridiculous” amounts of fresh water for fracking.

The ABMunis conference ran from Sept. 23-25 at the Edmonton Conference Centre. Pankiw says it was a productive few days which included constructive meetings with provincial officials.

In conclusion, he says there are good and bad aspects about where Alberta is headed as a province.

Recent scientific sampling data has shown the nearby Medicine River is stressed.

Sampling in 2024 raised concerns that persistent drought conditions have stressed the river, with dissolved oxygen levels too low and the river’s average temperature too high.

Lacombe County Coun. Dana Kreil said warning signs about the condition of the river date back years, with sampling from as far back as 2006 rating it as being in poor condition.

“The Medicine River is not mountain water fed, it is only fed from rain or snow runoff,” says Kreil. “Otherwise it is fed from the aquifer — that is where our water wells are.”

Rocky Mountain House seconds two resolutions

The Town of Rocky Mountain House didn’t bring forward any motions of its own this year but seconded motions from two other communities.

The first motion seconded by the town was introduced by the City of Edmonton and seeks to strengthen local governance and funding models for seniors’ lodges across the province.

The next motion, moved by the City of St. Albert, seeks to enhance regulatory oversight for door-to-door sales of solar panels and protect consumers from misinformation regarding municipal Clean Energy Incentive Programs (CEIP). The motion, which was also seconded by the towns of Jasper and Westlock, passed.

The full book of resolutions is available here, and the results listing is available here.