The provincial government continues to support coal mining on the Eastern Slopes despite its own scientists’ research that reveals ongoing water contamination from abandoned coal mines near Crowsnest Pass.
A study published in 2024 examined water quality downstream of two closed coal mines. Tent Mountain shut down in the early 1980s and Grassy Mountain stopped operating more than 60 years ago.
The Grassy Mountain mine was never cleaned up.
Old Mines, Ongoing Pollution
Rigorous water quality and sediment analysis found selenium concentrations of 185 micrograms per litre (μg/L) in a lake below the Tent Mountain site.
That’s way above what’s considered safe for drinking water and aquatic life.
Sampling of Crowsnest Creek, which drains the lake, showed selenium concentrations of 23 μg/L.
The Alberta government follows Health Canada’s upper limit of 50 µg/L for drinking water and uses an upper limit of one to two µg/L for aquatic life.
“Our results reveal novel evidence that coal mining activities in the Crowsnest River watershed have been impacting ecosystems downstream for decades,” write Colin Cooke, Craig Emmerton and Paul Drevnick who all work for the province’s Environment and Protected Areas branch.
The government scientists published their research on historic coal mining water contamination in Crowsnest Pass last spring in the scientific journal Environmental Pollution.
Good in Small Concentrations
Selenium is a naturally occurring metal. Humans and animals need it in small concentrations to ensure a healthy metabolism, immune system and thyroid function.
In high concentrations, however, it can be toxic to humans. Acute selenium toxicity causes a wide variety of health problems, including gastrointestinal and neurological issues and respiratory distress.
Too much selenium causes reproductive dysfunction in fish and other creatures that live in the water.
Contaminated Drinking Water
Coal mining is known to cause selenium problems.
Mining exposes selenium-containing rocks and soil to air and water, which releases selenium into the environment.
This leads to contamination of water and sediments. If selenium accumulates in the food chain, it harms aquatic life and human health.
Across the border in BC, selenium pollution from the long running open-pit coal mines in the Elk Valley has become a serious environmental and human health problem.
In 2023, the City of Fernie was forced to start searching for a new back-up supply of drinking water after sampling at its secondary source found selenium levels above what BC’s Water Quality Guidelines deem is safe to drink.
Farmers Sound Alarm
Alberta farmers and ranchers have been sounding alarm bells over the ongoing proposal for a new coal mine on Grassy Mountain and potential coal mines elsewhere on the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies.
“If coal mining proceeds in the Eastern Slopes of southern and central Alberta, downstream water users could be seriously impacted. Selenium and other elements potentially could contaminate water quality for humans, livestock and irrigated crop production and cause various other environmental and ecological concerns,” wrote retired Alberta government agronomist Ross McKenzie in Grainews.
McKenzie studied soil and crops for almost 40 years and is urging the province to give top priority to the “health of our rivers and lakes.”
Global Concern
The growing concern around coal mining’s impacts on southern Alberta’s water and agriculture is happening amidst a global crisis in land pollution.According to a recent study published in Science, between 14 and 17 percent of the world’s agricultural land is now contaminated with toxic metals.
