| Jessica Ernst can light her tap water on fire because it contains so much methane gas.
Ernst, who lives outside the hamlet of Rosebud, about an hour southeast of Calgary, has just had her water tested by Norwest Labs and was disturbed to discover her water contained a high level of methane – 44,800 parts per million of methane. She says the water that comes out of her tap is often white and has lots of tiny bubbles, and she says sometimes she sees white smoke coming from the water.
"I’ve lived here for seven years and my water was fine, and then coalbed methane (CBM) came and my water went bad," says Ernst.
CBM is natural gas trapped in coal seams. In order to get the gas out, companies have to fracture the coal seam in order to release the gas. Ernst believes that CBM development is causing methane to migrate into her water well.
Ernst isn’t alone in worrying about the source of methane in her water. Fiona Lauridsen, who lives on a farm close to Rosebud, says she can also light her tap water on fire.
Darin Barter, spokesperson for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), says the regulator has heard "several" complaints from people who are concerned about methane levels in their water. But he says there’s no evidence linking CBM development with methane contamination in water wells.
He says the EUB works closely with landowners to try and resolve their issues.
Scott Ranson, a communications officer with EnCana, says the company feels a "serious degree of empathy" for people who have found a high level of methane in their water.
However, he says many of the water wells in the Rosebud area have been drilled into shallow coal formations and that’s likely the cause of their methane contamination.
"People have drilled water wells into gas-bearing coal zones beneath them in that area of Alberta for decades," he says.
Ranson says EnCana has drilled 1,000 CBM wells and there have been 30 landowners who have wanted EnCana to do tests to determine if the methane in their water was related to CBM drilling.
"There’s been no linkage and this is from independent analysis," he says. "We take it really seriously because nobody wants to go onto somebody’s land and wreck a water well."
However, methane in the water is only one of the concerns residents have with the burgeoning CBM industry around Rosebud.
There’s now more noise due to compressor stations and flaring, there’s constant industrial traffic and the night sky is no longer as dark due to the lights from oil and gas infrastructure that dot the rolling prairie landscape.
"When you live out here for a few years, you get used to the dark and the beautiful sky. Now when we look out at night my daughter, who was born here, says, ‘I hate EnCana. I can’t see the stars anymore,’" says Lauridsen.
"There’s all this infrastructure that’s unpleasant to look at, the night sky is lit up, there’s constant traffic. It’s a big intrusion in our lives…. Now my water is under threat."
Ernst says the noise from nearby compressor stations has been making her life hell. She says EnCana has taken some measures to reduce the noise levels, but says before they did so, she was having problems sleeping and would even have to jump into her vehicle and leave her home because the noise was driving her so crazy.
"The level of noise is one matter, but it’s the pitch of the noise that’s extremely annoying. It’s a very high-pitched noise," she says.
Ernst describes CBM development as an "industrial invasion." She says she moved out to the country because she loved the quiet, the dark night sky and the rural, agricultural landscape, but she says the place she loves is being transformed with new roads, new wells and compressor stations. She adds that new access roads built by EnCana to access their facilities have led to more hunters and trespassers on her land, and she resents the loss of privacy.
Stacy Knull, vice-president of EnCana’s Chinook business unit, which includes Rosebud, says the company is making every effort to try and mitigate concerns about the visual impact of CBM and the noise.
He says EnCana’s compressor stations are below EUB noise level requirements and the company tries to ensure that infrastructure blends into the landscape.
"We’re always looking for new ideas when meeting with stakeholders," he says. |
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