Spartan Delta Corp. is actively involved in operations within the Blindman River watershed, a sub-basin of the Red Deer River Basin in Alberta, Canada, where water resources are critical for agriculture, energy, and community needs. The company, focused on sustainability and operational efficiency, operates in Canada's Western Sedimentary Basin, with core assets in Central Alberta, including areas overlapping with the Blindman River watershed [1][2]. Below is a detailed overview of their activities and related concerns in this region.
Operations Overview
Spartan Delta has been engaged in water diversion and monitoring activities in the Blindman River watershed, particularly around the Leedale source-water-body. The company is voluntarily monitoring multiple groundwater wells in the area, which has shown that drawdown affects at least one well. The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has reviewed this program and incorporated continued monitoring of select wells into recent Temporary Diversion Licence (TDL) conditions, ensuring some level of oversight despite the voluntary nature of the initial monitoring [3].
Additionally, Spartan Delta, alongside other energy companies like Baytex Energy and Clearview Resources Ltd., has been granted access to water from a substantial pit excavated by Jones Trucking and Backhoe Services at SW 7-44-1-W5 in Ponoka County. This pit, filled with water infiltrating from Lloyd Creek (a tributary of the Blindman River), is claimed to be surface runoff. The water is used for oil and gas drilling, specifically hydraulic fracturing (fracking). In 2024, the Alberta Government authorized a total of 415,000 m³ of surface runoff water from this pit for such purposes, an increase of 14,100 m³ from the previous year [4].
Spartan Delta is also executing its broader corporate strategy by growing oil and liquids production in the West Shale Basin Duvernay, with operations in the Willesden Green area, which is part of the larger regional context of the Blindman and Medicine River sub-watersheds. In Q4 2024, the company reported significant production increases, averaging approximately 38,523 BOE/d (35% liquids), with crude oil and condensate production up 72% compared to Q4 2023 [5].
Community and Environmental Concerns
The Blindman River watershed, designated as a Potentially Water-Short Basin by Alberta Environment in 2006, faces significant pressure from both agricultural and energy sector water use. The extraction of water for fracking, including from the Jones pit, has raised alarms among local residents and advocacy groups like the Friends of the Blindman River. Notably, Lloyd Creek ran dry south of Township Road 441 in recent years, coinciding with upstream water diversions at the gravel pit. This has led to accusations of either inadequate monitoring and enforcement or a failure in the licensing system itself [4][6].
Community opposition has been strong, evidenced by a standing-room-only town hall meeting in August (prior to 2025) that drew 250 people to discuss water regulation in the Blindman River area. The newly formed Friends of the Blindman River group, led by president Assar Grinde, aims to formalize advocacy efforts and partner with the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance to monitor river health, including taking temperature readings along the river [6].
Specific concerns regarding Spartan Delta include the lack of mandatory groundwater monitoring conditions in licences and the absence of a requirement for companies to inform agricultural landowners about the implications of selling ag-exempt water from dugouts. At a meeting at Last West Hall, a Spartan Delta engineer was reportedly unaware that farmers selling water might need to obtain a water licence for their own agricultural use afterward. The AER has stated it cannot force companies to adopt specific procedures in negotiations with landowners, placing the onus on landowners to ensure adequate water remains for their needs [3].
Regulatory Context
The AER oversees water licences in the Blindman River watershed, conducting 24 inspections in 2024 within the Medicine and Blindman River watersheds, with a 96% compliance rate regarding diversion rate conditions [3]. The instream objective for the Blindman River remains at 0.156 m³/s, below which no abstractions are permitted. However, for specific licences like Baytex Licence 499334, a higher threshold of 0.35 m³/s was established at the Blackfalds hydrometric station to account for differences in drainage area and downstream demand, though this is not a universal rule and may be applied ad-hoc by approvals officers [3].
In summary, Spartan Delta's operations in the Blindman River watershed involve significant water use for hydraulic fracturing, facilitated by licences and access to local water sources like the Jones pit. While the company has engaged in voluntary groundwater monitoring, now partially mandated by the AER, its activities contribute to broader community and environmental concerns about water scarcity in an already stressed basin. Advocacy efforts and regulatory oversight continue to shape the dialogue around sustainable water management in the region.
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- https://www.spartandeltacorp.com/deep-basin
- https://www.spartandeltacorp.com
- https://blindmanriver.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Follow-up-Questions-for-the-AER-Final-Feb-18-2025-1.pdf
- https://blindmanriver.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Water-Policy-Letter-from-Friends-of-the-Blindman.pdf
- https://boereport.com/2025/01/06/spartan-delta-corp-announces-operations-update/
- https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/home/new-blindman-river-group-formed-7929727
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