There's a lot in there, but I will start by noting that our water for life strategy recognizes that we need to use water for three main purposes. I went through the goals, but it really is for people, for the aquatic environment, of course, and for our economy. We do think about that in our management of water.
I'll start with oil and gas and then maybe add some things on drought, if that's okay.
To be fair, I want to note that oil and gas water use is highly regulated in Alberta. We actually have a policy that we've had since 2006. It's a water conservation policy whereby we ask that water licenses be issued for anything only when there's sufficient water for existing users.
That said, in particular, we have a water conservation policy for upstream oil and gas. It asks that no freshwater resources be used unless it is necessary. I just want to be clear: Whether it's reuse of water or whether it is saline sources, that is our policy first and foremost.
In the oil sands mining sector, in 2022, I think we had a drop of intensity of freshwater use of about 20% since 2013. On average, about 76% of the water used in the oil sands is recycled. That is a really important part of our policy.
I also mentioned that, like other regions of Canada, we go through cycles—