Concern over dead fish, water levels in reservoir southwest of Edmonton

Hundreds of dead fish have washed ashore, after an Alberta creek’s water levels dropped significantly.

A family who’s lived in the area for generations believe the Alberta Energy Regulator needs to step in to help save the ecosystem.

On May 28, Robin Wheale spent his birthday at the Poplar Creek Reservoir, built on the Modeste Creek near Breton, which is about 100 kilometres southwest of Edmonton in Brazeau County.

He took a video showing high water levels on the body of water he said it often filled with people kayaking or fishing.

By the middle of July, the reservoir was nearly empty. It’s been that way ever since.

“We are about 16 to 18 feet lower from where the top of the water is usually at,” he explained.

“It’s always been a full reservoir for the last 50 years. Now we can’t do anything on it.”

The reservoir was specifically built for and by the oil and gas industry for water withdrawal.

The reservoir’s outflow into the Poplar Creek/Modeste Creek watershed is regulated by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) as part of the operational license.

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However, the Wheale family said there was a promise made that wildlife and nearby neighbours would also benefit from the build.

Wheale believes the current owner, Baytex Energy, is taking too much water during a time of drought in Alberta.

“To allow an [ecosystem] to dry up, fish to die and animals just to leave… It makes me sick.”

In response to concerns, the Alberta Energy Regulator did an inspection to ensure Baytex Energy was in compliance with its water license, set in 2020.

In a statement to Global News, Baytex Energy wrote, “The natural inflow into the reservoir has been below average due to drier conditions…with fluctuating historical precipitation, this type of variability is an ongoing consideration in reservoir management.”

Since July, Baytex and the AER have been discussing adjustments to “operational practices due to the lower inflow conditions.”

Wheale fears the damage done is irreversible.

“As long as the AER is allowing Baytex to drop it to this level every year, [the creek] is dead,” Wheale said. “There was next to no run-off this spring. To go off its [outflow] chart from five years ago in a two-year drought is ludicrous.”

The company said it is developing a better framework for water outflow “…that can be adjusted based on real-time conditions such as inflow rates and seasonal water demands, assists in finding a balance between maintaining reservoir health and downstream ecological needs.”

When asked for comment, the Government of Alberta directed Global News to reach out to the AER.

The Alberta Energy Regulator said, “The Government of Alberta sets policy direction on the allocation of water for energy extraction activities and the AER issues licences to the energy industry for water use in accordance with that policy direction.”

Wheale said on Sept.11, officers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans came out to view the situation.

“What’s more important — a litre of oil or a dead fish?” Wheale questioned.

He is worried whatever fish remain won’t survive the winter.

“I measured the depth [of the reservoir] and it will most likely freeze to the bottom,” he said.

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