Kneehill County council was presented with a request from Artis Exploration Ltd. to grant access to water at the Torrington Gravel Pit site for extraction for a period of 10 years during the regular council meeting on Tuesday, November 30.
Currently, Artis has a five-year agreement for water access and extraction which is set to expire in May 2023.
“Artis has approached us asking to extend for 10 years; that allows them to apply for a term license with the province, which provides a little more security for water access for drilling operations in the future,” explained Director of Infrastructure Mike Ziehr during the council meeting.
Artis estimates they would extract some 175,000 cubes of water in the coming year at a cost of $1 per cube. As the Torrington Gravel Pit property is located on both Kneehill County and Valleyview Hutterite Brethren colony properties, the new agreement would “jointly tie” both the county and colony, and revenues would be equally split.
Under the new agreement, the county and colony would be permitted to take up to 10,000 cubes of water for their own use and sell up to 20,000 cubes; additional water above these amounts are subject to Artis’ approval and Mr. Ziehr explained the company would have right of first refusal.
Kneehill County Chief Administrative Officer Mike Haugen explained, “The water is not ours to sell, but the access to it.”
He added Artis has been applying annually for a Temporary Diversion License through Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP); the agreement would allow them to apply for a longer-term license, however, Artis would require an agreement to lock in that water source for the duration of the license.
Division 2 Councillor Debbie Penner voiced concerns about water extraction from the site following the heatwave and drought experienced over summer 2021.
CAO Haugen noted the agreement is only to grant access. “Anyone withdrawing water from there is going to need to meet AEP approval,” he explained.
Following further discussion, Division 1 Councillor Faye McGhee moved for Kneehill County to enter into the 10-year agreement with Valleyview Hutterite Brethren and Artis Exploration; six council members voted in favour with one against.
