Predicting high-flow periods for sustainable water use

In the Kaybob Duvernay and Tupper Montney resource plays in Canada, withdrawing and impounding water volumes for operations occur during water-rich or high-water flow during spring, when streams rise and have higher flow rates as a result of snowmelt. Withdrawing the fresh water required during the high flow periods reduces the chance of negatively affecting the environmental flow needs of downstream aquatic ecosystems, maintains available free water allocation for other local area water users and decreases the potential of needing to withdraw water at times of stress or drought where access to water may be restricted.

Murphy actively monitors its fresh water sources with automated lake hydrometric stations and river monitoring aids, both of which help to predict the high-flow periods for long- and short-term forecasting. Fluctuations in moisture levels year-over-year, and the potential impacts of climate change on water resources, make it increasingly necessary to understand the impact on freshwater availability.

In the future, Murphy plans to expand the scope of the programme to include local and regional precipitation and snowpack, which will provide data trends to predict possible drought or high moisture levels.

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