Medicine River Watershed Society meets with province to discuss 10-year long drought

Chairperson of the Society, Dana Kreil said the purpose of the meeting was to be able to discuss concerns on water levels, drought impacts, and sustainability with those in government making the decisions.

Kreil said they are in year 10 of a drought in the Medicine River watershed area, which intersects the counties of Clearwater, Lacombe, Ponoka and Red Deer.

She said during the meeting they presented information showing that the Medicine River and Blindman River watersheds are in a severe drought.

“The Medicine River it’s almost flat so it could almost be deemed as a lake so it struggles at the best of times, but if you add drought and pumping for fracking purposes, it adds extra stress for the river,” she said.

The Watershed Society also presented results of sampling completed in the river from 2023-24, which she said showed the river had too low of dissolved oxygen levels and the temperature was too high. The sampling was completed by the Watershed Society, the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance, and Creek Watch.

“There are spots that are very low and I have not seen it myself but I’m hearing there are some tributaries that have dried up,” she said.

Kreil said the Medicine River is not mountain water fed so it relies on spring run-off and there hasn’t been much for a few years. It also relies on rain.

So when it is low, the Paskapoo Aquifer system, a local groundwater source, is supposed to recharge it and support local water wells. However, the aquifer is also in trouble.

“We’re not sure how related this is, we want to do more work on this, but we are hearing from people who are saying their water wells are drying up. We want to understand that better,” Kreil said.

Among the asks of the provincial government includes more accurate measurements of the flow and depth of the river and a decrease in the use of freshwater for fracking.

“We want to take the pressures off the river because at the end of the day agriculture and human consumption should be its primary use,” she said.

They also want increased oversight of freshwater withdrawal, especially during times of drought. In addition, the society wants partnerships to help understand the impacts of drought with data collection.

And finally, collaboration on developing methods and legislation to enable disposal water reuse for fracking.

She said the society plans to buy some equipment that will help them measure the river and depth of local water wells for more accurate data in 2026.

rdnewsNOW reached out to both the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas and Minister of Energy and Minerals for a statement but said they don’t comment on stakeholder meetings.

However, Kreil explained Minister Hunter stated a desire to see some resolutions the society could approach the municipalities on to take forward to Alberta Municipalities and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta. She said the wheels are already in motion.

The next steps are to begin measuring water levels and sampling the river and wells on their own soon.

“We need data. We need to know, should we be concerned or should we not be concerned,” she added. “Once we get the equipment, we have some people who are qualified to do the sampling for us we’re just going to need some money. I think the province heard us on that as well.”

On May 21, the Society will hold a dinner event where they’ll present sampling results that were done in 2025. The free event will be held at 6 p.m. at Gilby Hall in Eckville. Members of the community can attend and ask questions and show support.

by Ian Gustafson

Medicine River Watershed Society meets with province to discuss 10-year long drought

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