Athabasca River Basin

The Athabasca River originates in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. The river flows northeast through the province, past the urban centers of Jasper, Hinton, Whitecourt, Athabasca and Fort McMurray prior to emptying into Lake Athabasca. The Athabasca River is part of the Mackenzie River system, which drains eventually into the Arctic Ocean.

At Jasper, Athabasca and Fort McMurray the mean annual discharge is 2,790 million m3, 13,600 million m3 and 20,860 million m3, respectively. The drainage areas at Jasper, Athabasca and Fort McMurray are 3,880 km2, and 74,600 km2, and 133,000 km2 respectively. The Athabasca River Basin includes the McLeod, Pembina and Clearwater rivers.

The Athabasca Basin is about 140,000 km2 in area and occupies approximately 23% of Alberta. The mean annual natural river discharge of the Athabasca River is 24,000,000 dam3.

Athabasca River
Athabasca River

In 2001, the basin had a population of 154,097 people, or 5% of the provincial population. The population density of the basins was just over one person per square kilometre. The Athabasca River Basin includes all or parts of 22 rural or regional municipalities and includes of 2d3 urban municipalities and 14 Aboriginal settlements.

An overview of current surface and groundwater allocations shows that in 2005 the petroleum sector accounted for 68% of allocations (581,792 dam3) and the industrial sector accounts for another 17% of total allocations (145,368 dam3). The other and municipal sectors accounted for most of the remaining allocations, accounting for 59,988 dam3 (7%) and 46,097 dam3 (5%), respectively. Total allocations in the basin in 2005 were 849,639 dam3.

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Ross Douglas

Ross Douglas

Board Member

Ross has extensive executive experience in Operations, Governance, Information Technology and Strategy at the board and senior management level including Mancal Corporation, Mancal Energy, Highridge Exploration and Atlantis Resources. He has worked in Oil and Gas, Coal, Commercial Real Estate, Portfolio Management, Recreation, Retail and Water and Wastewater Treatment. His experience is also geographically diverse having overseen operations in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Additionally, he has been on the board of companies with operations in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He has served on numerous Public, Private and Not for Profit Boards across a number of industries.

Ross has been active on several industry Boards and committees including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and The Schulich School of Engineering Industry Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Engineering.

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Brian Mergelas

Brian Mergelas, PhD, ICD.D

Board Member

Brian is a seasoned Cleantech entrepreneur with a proven history of successfully bringing complex water technologies to the market.   With over 25 years of experience, he has led various organizations to achieve significant milestones in the industry. 

Having started as the founding CEO of the Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC) and later taking the helm at the Water Technology Acceleration Project (WaterTAP), Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth within the sector. 

He is an active investor in the cleantech sector and has served on many boards including the Ontario Clean Water Agency. 

Actively engaged in industry associations like AWWA, WEF, IWA, and ASCE, Brian enjoys collaborating with fellow professionals to promote advancements in the field. 

Brian holds an undergraduate degree and a PhD in Physics from Queen’s University, which has provided him with a solid technical foundation.   As a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, he brings valuable insights to corporate governance.