The recent water restrictions experienced in Canmore, Dead Man’s Flats, and Harvie Heights bring water conservation to the top of our minds.
Where does our water come from?
These communities' drinking water is not taken directly from the Bow River but rather from two other sources:
Groundwater: A shallow underground aquifer flows beneath downtown Canmore and is hydrologically connected to the Bow River.
The Rundle Forebay: This reservoir near the Canmore Nordic Centre is primarily supplied by the Spray Lakes reservoir in Kananaskis Country via a network of canals and hydroelectric facilities.
Where does our waste water go?
Our toilets, sinks, and floor drains are connected to a network of more than 100 kilometres of sewer pipes leading to the town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. This modern facility treats over 5 million cubic meters of wastewater per year. Treated wastewater is discharged into the Bow River, which flows to the City of Calgary, joining the South Saskatchewan River and eventually flowing to Hudson’s Bay.
Storm water drains from storm sewers or dry wells directly into nearby creeks, rivers, and groundwater aquifers without receiving treatment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, so it is really important to keep our streets clean and free of pollutants!
Is Climate Change impacting our water supplies?
Around the world, an estimated 1.9 billion people live downstream of mountain glaciers and rely on them for freshwater resources. For this reason, mountains are sometimes called the “water towers of the world.” Glacial meltwater and runoff contribute to water flow downstream, thus affecting the availability of freshwater resources for ecosystems, human consumption, crop irrigation and hydropower generation.
Glacial meltwater acts as a buffer in dry, hot years when there is not a lot of snowfall or rainfall. Glaciers essentially work like savings accounts for downstream areas during hot summers when water is scarce.
In addition to the freshwater resources that glaciers provide to downstream users and ecosystems, glaciers in Western Canada are also important for social and cultural reasons. Glaciated mountains have long attracted mountaineers and tourists from all over the world and continue to do so today.
What can I do about it?
Native Plant Resources
Check out this list of recommended plant species for landscaping in the Bow Valley.
Current Volunteer Opportunities
Are you passionate about waste reduction, music and community? Sign-up for the Canmore Folk Music Festival's Green Team. Last year, we diverted 1260 kg of material (86%) from the landfill! Join a team of volunteers as we work towards a zero-waste event.
Bonus perks! If you volunteer for 10 hours, you will receive a weekend pass for the festival, a volunteer T-shirt, access to backstage snacks and beverages and a private wee-hour party following the main stage concerts on Sunday and Monday night!
Sign up here and indicate that you would like to help with the "Environment Team".
Congratulations to Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative!
June was a huge month for our Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative friends!
Congratulations to the Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative, on winning an Emerald Award in the Energy category at the 2023 Emerald Awards!
(Pictured from L to R): Joey O’Brien - BVGEC Founding Board Member, Marisa Orfei - Emerald Foundation Executive Director and Jodi Conuel - Biosphere Institute’s representative on the BVGEC Board.
Did you know that the concept for Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative came about in early 2019 when the Biosphere Institute's very own Shift Program Coordinator, Jodi Conuel, imagined a ‘network of solar panels across our valley’ and sought financing to complete a feasibility study into the concept of community generation in the Bow Valley. During this feasibility study, the Biosphere searched for suitable locations for a community-owned solar project in Canmore and explored community-based mechanisms to finance renewable energy developments.
During this process, the Biosphere Institute joined with interested local community members to form a small steering committee, which subsequently became the founding board of directors of Bow Valley Green Energy.
Since then, the Biosphere Institute has continued to work with and support this amazing team of volunteers. With over 3000 dedicated hours of volunteer labour, this organisation has successfully transformed the way communities can opt into renewable energy solutions, secured and leveraged $178K of community investment, and installed 429kW of solar panels. These panels have since generated 105MW of renewable energy and offset over 60 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide; with each sunny day, these numbers keep on rising!
Huge congratulations to the Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative, Baymag, and KCP Energy, on their most recent installation and electrification of the largest solar array in the MD of Bighorn at the Baymag plant in Exshaw. At 291 kW in size, this installation will generate up to 300,000 KWH of renewable electricity per year and eliminate 240 Tonnes of CO2e (Greenhouse Gas Emissions) from Alberta's electricity grid annually. For context, this is equivalent to the average electricity consumption of 50-60 homes annually.
Biosphere Institute staff and Board members, alongside the new Banff Kananaskis MLA, Sarah Elmeligi and many other supporters, joined Baymag to celebrate this momentous occasion on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Click here to view some photos in the RM Outlook from this event!
Pictured from L to R: Jen Smith, MD of Bighorn councillor, Richard Sproul, executive vice president, sales at Baymag Inc., Jeff Roberts, president of Bow Valley Green Energy Cooperative, Geoff Domenico, president of KCP Energy Inc.,Franz Spachtholz, CEO at Baymag Inc., Hubertus Liebrecht, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jim Bachmann, vice president, operations at Baymag Inc and Sarah Elmeligi, Banff-Kananaskis MLA.
Pictured from L to R: Jodi Conuel (Biosphere Institute staff member) and Sarah Elmeligi (Banff Kananaskis MLA) celebrating the new solar installation behind!
Biosphere Events Coming Soon!
Living with Nature - Bow Valley History from Indigenous Perspectives
artsPlace - July 5, 2023, 7 - 9 pm - Space is limited; a reservation is required.
Learn the Indigenous History of this Land.
This workshop will address living with nature in each season and the history of the Bow Valley from an Indigenous perspective in an informal setting to encourage conversation and dialogue.
The goals are to:
grow existing relationships and foster new relationships with the Indigenous peoples, settlers and tourists to learn more about local Indigenous histories to the Bow Valley;
provide information about Indigenous and WildSmart perspectives when interacting with nature and animals;
lead to an increased understanding of why certain actions promote coexistence and how the power of change rests in individual actions.
