Water Quality in the Elk Valley
The history and path forward
The Elk Valley
The Elk Valley is located in the Rocky Mountains of southeastern B.C., 60 kilometres from the Alberta and Montana borders. The valley is defined by the watershed of the Elk River. The river’s headwaters are in the north bordering the Kananaskis River watershed and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The river flows south for over 150 km before it empties into the Kootenay River at the Koocanusa Reservoir within the Rocky Mountain Trenc 1 .
The Elk River valley has steep, high elevation rocky alpine surrounding wide valleys. The rivers, forests and grasslands provide an important home for fish, wildlife and plants, some of which are unique to the region.
Qukin ʔamakʔis
The Elk Valley is also known as Qukin ʔamakʔis (Raven’s Land) and is within the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation.
The Ktunaxa Nation act as stewards of the land, water and all living things (ʔa·kxamis qapi qapsins) within their homelands. The Ktunaxa Nation has signed agreements with the B.C. government to participate in the management of activities within their territory, including Qukin ʔamakʔis. The governments are working together to protect and improve the environment in Qukin ʔamakʔis.
Image: The Elk Valley near Fernie B.C.
Mining
Coal mining has been happening for over 120 years. Mining operations prior to 1970 were small and mostly underground. In the 1970s, mining transitioned to larger scale surface mining, including the creation of valley-fill waste rock areas.
Waste rock generation has increased since the 1970s and continues to increase today. Waste rock is the biggest source of selenium, nitrate and sulphate in the Elk Valley.
Image: A haul truck at the Fording River Operations.
Importance of mining
Coal mining is the main economic driver. It makes significant contributions to the local, provincial and Canadian economies. EVR’s coal mine operations create jobs, provide tax revenues for government and invest in local businesses.
Environmental effects
Years of mining activities have impacted the Elk River watershed. Water quality has gotten worse in the Elk River and Koocanusa Reservoir. Waste rock generated from mining causes poor water quality.
Image: Henretta Lake at Fording River Operations.
Managing water quality
Timeline
Changes detected
Increasing levels of selenium, nitrate and sulphate were found in the Elk River in the 1990s. These are naturally occurring substances. Mining activities increased amounts in downstream waters to levels that could negatively impact the environment.
Calcite was also observed on stream beds at some locations. Calcite can harden the stream bottom and make it less useful to aquatic life.
Studies were done to better understand the cause of these changes and how to address them.
Action taken
Water quality continued to worsen throughout the early 2000s. By 2013 more was understood about the cause of these changes and how to improve them. In response, B.C.’s Minister of Environment issued a Ministerial Order .
The Order required Teck (now EVR) to develop an Area Based Management Plan (ABMP). The goal of the ABMP is to improve water quality and guide future development in the Elk Valley. The ABMP defines the actions EVR will take to achieve this goal. The plan aims to protect aquatic health, human health and groundwater, and manage the level of mine-related substances in the aquatic plants and animals of the Elk Valley.
The Plan aims to protect:
- Aquatic health
- Human health
- Groundwater
- And manage levels of mine-related substances in the aquatic plants and animals of the Elk Valley
The ABMP is a unique approach to address:
- The historic and regional extent of the water quality issues
- The large number of discharges
- The framework to guide future mining
The Plan was developed using the best science available and in consultation with regulators, First Nations and expert scientists.
The Plan titled the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, was approved by the Minister of Environment in November 2014.
Image: EVR and B.C. government staff at Fording River Operations.
Elk Valley Water Quality Plan
The Plan protects the health of the Elk River watershed by managing it at a regional scale. It accomplishes this by setting targets for selenium, nitrate, sulphate and the formation of calcite. These targets are reduced over time to improve water quality.
The plan includes:
- A strategy for how EVR will meet the water quality targets
- Monitoring to assess how well the plan is working
- A research and development program to ensure EVR continues to use the best available methods
The strategy used to meet the targets is expected to change over time with new monitoring, research and development information.
Image: Koocanusa Reservoir in the fall when reservoir levels are high.
Regulation and permits
A waste discharge permit (Permit 107517) was created under the Environmental Management Act using key commitments from the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan. This was necessary to ensure B.C. could enforce EVR’s commitments in the Plan. The permit includes limits for selenium, nitrate and sulphate for each mine site. It also adopts the water quality targets.
The permit is the first of its kind in B.C. because it covers 5 mines and sets limits in the rivers, rather than at every discharge location.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has a team of qualified professionals dedicated to permitting and monitoring Elk Valley activities.
The ministry has a separate dedicated compliance and enforcement team. This team works with other agencies and engages with the Ktunaxa Nation. Inspectors on this team assess EVR’s compliance with the permit and work to restore compliance using enforcement tools.
Image: B.C. government staff downstream of the Fording River South Active Water Treatment Facility.
Current conditions
The Elk Valley Water Quality Plan is showing good results. It’s driving major investments in water treatment by EVR. Monitoring has improved the understanding of aquatic ecosystem health. Research and development are creating new technologies to improve water quality.
Improving water quality in the Elk Valley is taking longer than expected. The treatment strategy has had to adapt, contributing to delays in the construction of 2 treatment facilities. An improved understanding of how substances move through the environment also suggests water quality improvements will be slower.
Image: The Fording River downstream of Greenhills Creek.
Water treatment
EVR’s selenium and nitrate treatment strategy has 2 unofficial phases. Due to the complexities of the mine sites, there’s some overlap between the phases:
- Treat older mining areas to stabilize and improve water quality to levels close to or below targets.
- Treat newer mining areas to further improve and maintain levels below the targets.
The 2022 update of EVR’s strategy predicts the need to treat up to 189,000 cubic meters per day (m 3 /d) of water by 2043 to achieve the targets.
There are currently 3 selenium and nitrate treatment facilities operating at the Fording River, Line Creek and Elkview mine operations. A fourth facility, also at Fording River Operations, is under review by regulators and is scheduled to begin treating water in 2023. These 4 facilities make up the first treatment phase and will be able to treat up to 77,500 m 3 /d.
The 2022 strategy update also indicates that sulphate treatment will likely be required in the Fording River by 2027.
Calcite treatment removes calcite from the water before it can form on the streambeds. The first calcite treatment facility began operating in 2017. Eight calcite treatment facilities are currently operating and 2 more are planned by the end of 2023. EVR is also working towards 4 projects to remove existing calcite from streambeds.
Learn more about water treatment in the Elk Valley .
Image: Treated water from the Fording River South Active Water Treatment Facility dischargers into the upper Fording River.
Water quality
Water quality modelling predicts nitrate and selenium levels have peaked. Monitoring has measured the highest levels of selenium and nitrate in the past few years. Treatment facilities have removed high amounts of substances and levels are stabilizing and will continue to improve.
Learn more about current water quality conditions .
Image: B.C. government staff collecting water quality samples from Line Creek.
Aquatic health
Information gathered is used to understand the health of the aquatic ecosystem. This monitoring and assessment ensures the effects of mining are understood and the Plan is working.
Currently, the health of the aquatic environment is consistent with predictions. Downstream ecosystems in Koocanusa Reservoir and the Elk River do not show mining-related impacts. However, impacts have been measured in areas with poor water quality close to the mine sites. These areas are expected to recover as water quality improves.
Learn more about current Aquatic health and ongoing monitoring programs .
Image: Westslope Cutthroat Trout are the focus of recovery efforts in the upper Fording River.
Next Steps
EVR is working quickly to implement water treatment and other strategies to improve water quality. The B.C. government is prioritizing the review of permit applications for these facilities to ensure they can be operated safely.
At the ministry, a dedicated team of environmental professionals, made up of Engineers, Biologists, Hydrologists and Hydrogeologists is working exclusively to improve and protect water quality in the Elk Valley.
This team is focused on:
- Development and implementation of water treatment facilities
- Establishing robust monitoring and assessment programs
- Using science and technology to improve water quality
The team’s work is being carried out in collaboration with other B.C. government ministries and partners.
The ministry also has a Compliance and Environmental Enforcement Branch that is holding EVR accountable for meeting permit requirements alongside similar branches in other B.C. government ministries. This work is being done with Ktunaxa Nation staff and representatives.
Return to the Elk Valley Water Quality Hub homepage
