Don Bester

Don Bester – Director, Butte Action Committee
Influential Icon: Water warrior

When it comes to challenging Alberta’s oilpatch on using fresh water for enhanced recovery, Don Bester, director of the Butte Action Committee, has a pretty good grasp of the facts.

That’s because Bester, a retired reservoir engineer, spent 25 years working in the oilpatch. Today, the rancher, who operates a cow-calf operation near Caroline, spends most of his time lobbying the province over conservation of fresh water. His hard work has reaped some dividends as the environmental group has forced government reviews of at least two plans: one to remove groundwater out of coal seams to produce coalbed methane near Drayton Valley, as well as Capstone Energy’s proposal to pump water from the Red Deer River to inject into wells to squeeze out oil. The group now boasts a membership of more than 400 members from farms and central Alberta municipalities such as Ponoka and Lacombe.

Q: Why should the concerns of the agriculture sector over water usage trump the needs of the resource sector?

A: Fresh, potable water is the lifeline of all farmers and ranchers. Without it, our industry cannot survive. The oil industry has alternatives. We have not realized or ever looked into the impact of using the volume that the oil industry has used over the past 50 years. It takes a long time to start having an impact on aquifers and we are coming to that realization now. We are seeing an impact of removing all this water from the freshwater cycle. It is not just the rural sector that should be concerned. Towns like Lacombe, Ponoka and Wetaskiwin have seen their water tables go down and they cannot supply their towns with water.�

Q: What keeps you sane?

A: There is a chance that we can change things around for the better.

Q: What one situation do you wish you could have the chance to face again and how would you respond differently?

A: The one thing that I wish that I could have changed is water use. I was directly involved in enhanced recovery programs using fresh water when I worked in the oil industry. At that time, there seemed to be an endless supply of fresh water. If we could have initiated alternatives at the time, maybe we wouldn’t be fighting today.

Q: What is the best thing about living in Alberta? What’s the most frustrating thing?

A: I was born and raised in Alberta so the best thing is that it’s home. There is ample opportunity for everyone. The most frustrating thing is the political climate has changed dramatically to serve one industry. Agriculture was in place before the oil and gas industry was started and we’ll be around after all the oil and gas is removed. We’re the ones that will have to clean up the mess afterwards so we wish that the sustainability of agriculture is recognized equally to the oil and gas sector in the political realm.

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