Environment committee  The big question is whether they proceed. When I wrote a report on upgraders, Upgrader Alley, last year, it was expected that we would have about eight upgraders within the Edmonton area and that the net consumption of water would be about 80 million cubic metres; in other words, they would take from the river about eight times the volume of water taken by the city of Edmonton.

Environment committee  Yes, I was one of the people who reviewed a draft of it. It was a report by the Council of Canadian Academies, and it's entitled Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Canada. It was released yesterday and it has one subsection dealing purely with the oil sands and the concerns about the impacts of the oil sands on groundwater.

Environment committee  I was not going to go into the federal role in detail because I know that somebody else tomorrow is going to be speaking to that. I think there is a role through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. As well, of course, there's a trigger with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on water quality.

Environment committee  I think the research will help us to make better decisions. At the moment, I don't think we have enough information on the cumulative impacts. More projects are approved, but we don't know enough about the cumulative impact of so many projects going ahead, especially on groundwater.

Environment committee  Yes, that's right. I'll start straightaway. I appreciate the opportunity to present to the committee, and I am speaking today in a personal capacity. I would like to start with my key messages. You know that the Athabasca is required to produce a lot of water for the oil sands, but I want to look at not only the Athabasca but also the influence of the oil sands development on groundwater quantity and quality.