| 2021 Policy Issue | Associated Knowledge Gap(s) |
| Safeguarding groundwater and surface water quantity and quality |
Assess the cumulative effects – both benefits and impacts – of dugouts and borrow pits on the landscape on land use and biodiversity, and water quality and quantity. Assess whether reclamation of borrow pits, or natural regeneration, has greater environmental outcomes. |
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Identify alternative method(s) of designating ‘locally constrained areas’ to that proposed in the AER’s draft Water Conservation Policy Manual. |
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Identify alternative method(s) of calculating the large-scale project threshold to that proposed in the AER’s draft Water Conservation Policy Manual. |
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| Enabling the use of alternative water sources to high-quality non-saline water |
Identify the specific barriers to recycling water in hydraulic fracturing operations in different regions of Alberta; i.e., treatment technologies, regulatory barriers, storage limitations, costs, water quality limitations? Project should include survey of operator water teams, a jurisdictional review of AB vs BC (where recycling rates are much higher), and interviews to gather operator experiences in both jurisdictions. |
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Evaluate whether an appropriately sensitive pipeline leak detection sensor could be adapted for use in temporary surface pipelines (e.g., layflat hose) carrying non-fresh water, as an alternative to visual inspections. |
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| Improving the operational business environment by generating efficiencies and cost savings in water management |
Identify optimizations/efficiencies that operators could adopt to meet the application requirements for temporary surface pipelines; e.g., creating maps, writing letters, surveys, field scouting, using other disposition holders’ TSAs to avoid duplication of effort. |
