Water Innovation Planning Committee (WIPC).

WIPC is an important AUPRF technical committee. Their work is dedicated to providing credible and relevant information that addresses knowledge gaps related to water issues in upstream oil and natural gas development. They focus on identifying key challenges for the energy sector in managing water across the spectrum, including sourcing, storage, transport, treatment, recycling/reuse, and disposal. By working towards the development of shared research, WIPC supports work to help manage high-priority environmental matters related to water.

WIPC Committee Members

Name	Company Name
Anil Gupta	Alberta Environment and Protected Areas
Deanna Cottrell	Shell Canada
Geoff Webb	Canadian Natural Resources Limited
Guillaume Lafond	Ovintiv
Jarred Anstett	Murphy Oil Corp.
Julia Fletcher	Shell Canada
Matt Mclean	Cenovus Energy
Michael Bevan	Alberta Energy Regulator
Natasha Rowden	MEG Energy
Paul Martin	ConocoPhillips
Rodney Guest	Suncor Energy
Sarah Belak	Tourmaline Oil
Scott Hillier	Cenovus Energy
Scott Rayner	MEG Energy
Susan Satterthwaite	Alberta Environment and Protected Areas
Tara Payment	Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Current Policy Issues and Knowledge Gaps

Policy Issue	Knowledge Gaps
Safeguarding groundwater and surface water quantity and quality	Updated methodology for determining water availability for withdrawal in lakes in key operating areas.
Enabling the use of alternative water sources to high-quality non-saline water	Economic treatment of produced water to reduce risk of conveyance via temporary surface pipeline. Review of produced water and flowback water recycling operations across jurisdictions to identify scenarios where it would be economic in Alberta (e.g., regulatory requirements, level of activity, water quality, distance to disposal). Solutions to reduce mid-term storage/containment costs for produced water. Research to support longer-term deployment of aboveground walled storage systems thus reducing regulatory burden. Area-based wave studies to reduce freeboard. Risk characterization of Groups 2 and 3 water (per Directive 077 and Pipeline Rules) to inform risk-aligned regulatory requirements for conveyance, storage, and releases.
Improving the operational business environment by generating efficiencies and cost savings in water management	Ongoing open access to the Alberta Water Tool.