N.W.T. gov't eyes Mackenzie River water for horizontal drilling program

The N.W.T. government wants the company installing the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link, Ledcor, to be able to draw water from the nearby Mackenzie River. The purpose? To support a "large" horizontal directional drilling program on Sahtu-owned land.

The drilling is needed to install some of the final 120 kilometres of the 1,154-kilometre fibre line at Tieda River.

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which is sometimes associated with horizontal drilling and has been the source of much debate in the territory, will not be part of the process, according to a government spokesperson.

But water is needed for the intended directional drilling, and the nearest sources are either 30 kilometres north or 20 kilometres south of Tieda River, along the fibre line route.  

To save on travel time and to reduce the amount of wear on the fibre line route, however, the Department of Finance is proposing to send two to three tracked water trucks (plus a backup wheeled truck) per day on a pre-cut, 8.5-kilometre route to collect water from the Mackenzie River.

No clearing will be needed, says the government.

The trouble is, while the Mackenzie River is an approved water source under the fibre line's water licence, the land Ledcor must traverse to get to the river is not covered under the project's land-use permit.

So the government must now apply for an amendment to its land-use permit.

The new regulatory hurdle comes as the clock ticks mercilessly for the territorial government and Ledcor.

The fibre line was supposed to be in service last August, and Ledcor and its partner on the project, Northwestel, are paying their lenders over $200,000 a month. The companies hope the line will be ready by June.

Sean Craig, who is overseeing the fibre line project for the territorial government, said Friday he does not anticipate the amendment request will trigger a public hearing.

One positive sign for the government? The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board quickly processed the application on Friday, the same day it was filed. Many applications typically lack all the required information, prompting the land and water board to send the application back to applicants.

Last 3 hurdles

Last week, the Department of Finance said Tieda River, along with the Loone and Rabbitskin river crossings, represented the last three major hurdles to completing the fibre line project.

At least four previous attempts to get the fibre through the riverbed at Rabbitskin River have proved unsuccessful, said Sandy Kalgutkar, the deputy secretary to the financial management board, last week.

"[Ledcor is] working with some fairly internationally known horizontal drilling to ensure they have an executable plan for the 2017 season," he said.

The water from the Mackenzie River will also be used as potable water at mobile camp near the Tieda River drilling site.