CALGARY—An Alberta ski resort’s plan to sell its extra water from the Rocky Mountains for bottled water is facing stiff opposition from an environmental group as the clock ticks down for public feedback

Fortress Mountain ski resort — just over 100 kilometres west of Calgary between Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Spray Valley — is owned and operated by Fortress Mountain Holdings Ltd. It has had a licence to divert more than 98 million litres of water per year from a Galatea Creek tributary since 1968. Before the resort closed in 2004, the water was meant to be used for drinking water, dishwashing and preparing food. It also has another licence, issued around the same time and also worth about 98 million litres of water, for snow production.

But last month, the resort, which plans to reopen in 2020, applied to amend its potable water licence to allow 50 million litres of that annual allotment — about 20 Olympic-sized pools worth — for commercial use, according to a public notice. If approved, it could be sold to distilleries, water-bottling operations or “health-focused” companies.

Chris Chevalier, president of Fortress Mountain resort, said if it goes to a bottling-water operation, it would be one that uses glass or tin packaging as opposed to plastic.

The potential revenue, if the proposal is approved, would go to revitalizing the ski hill, which has been in the works for the last seven years, according to a letter issued July 26 by managing director Thomas Heath in response to questions from the public and media about the plan.

The ski hill’s lease was revoked more than 10 years ago under a previous owner, according to Chevalier. He said he was “shocked” by the state of the mountain when he joined the company in 2011.

“We’ve already taken 20 semi (truck) loads of junk off the hill,” he said. It included trashed equipment, vehicles and other leaking petroleum products.

Revenue from the water sales would also go to providing competitive salaries to employees and community investments and would allow the resort to maintain a majority Alberta-based ownership, according to Heath’s letter.

However, the proposal has been met with avid opposition from the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA).

Carolyn Campbell, a conservation specialist with AWA, is “strongly opposed” to the ski hill’s plan and wants the company to withdraw its proposal.

The mountain headwaters feeding Galatea Creek come from rain, snow and glacier ice and are considered a pure form of water, Campbell said, which eventually feeds the Bow River.

Campbell said she has concerns over the emissions caused by pumping and trucking millions of litres of water each year into Calgary from a stream that already makes its way to the Bow River and into the city naturally.

Campbell added if this water goes to a bottling operation, she has concerns over the packaging and waste it might create.

Additionally, the Bow River is already “overallocated,” she warns, and doesn’t need the added pressure from the resort.

“When those licences were issued, it was (during) generally fairly wet conditions,” she said, adding she worries about how it might impact water flow during drought conditions.

The stream water is beneficial for mountain ecosystems, she said, especially aquatic life during low-flow periods that would otherwise be limited by water scarcity.

“We’re definitely opposed to removing water that’s not needed for its original purpose,” Campbell said, adding she thinks the proposed use is “environmentally inappropriate.”

“We really have to manage our water resources wisely and this is not a wise reallocation.”

Jess Sinclair, a spokesperson for Alberta Environment and Parks, the provincial agency responsible for the Water Act licences, confirmed the last day to formally oppose the plan is Aug. 11.

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Anyone who is directly affected by the application can submit a written statement of concern to the Environment and Parks Regulatory Approvals Centre or by emailing aep.waapplications@gov.ab.ca. It should include criteria outlined by the public notice.

After the agency’s technical review and the public notice period are complete, a statutory decision on the licence amendment will be made. Fortress Mountain Holdings Ltd., along with anyone who filed a complaint, is entitled to appeal the decision.

Correction - August 7, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to Fortress Mountain Holdings Ltd. as Fortress Mountain Holdings Inc.

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