Elk Valley Resources (EVR) has expanded its water treatment capacity as part of the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, bringing the region’s combined treatment capacity to 97.5 million litres per day across four operating facilities.

The latest milestone is the completion of the West Line Creek Active Water Treatment Facility expansion, which adds 10 million litres of daily treatment capacity. The facility can now treat up to 17.5 million litres per day, more than double its previous capacity of 7.5 million litres.

The expansion is part of a much larger environmental undertaking to address the cumulative effects of decades of steelmaking coal production on the Elk River watershed. EVR reports that it has invested approximately $2 billion in water treatment infrastructure, with additional projects expected to bring total treatment capacity to 127.5 million litres per day by 2027.

For communities throughout the Elk Valley, the significance extends beyond the expansion of a single facility. The broader question is whether ongoing treatment, monitoring and pollution prevention can deliver lasting improvements to water quality while mining continues in the region.

Understanding the Elk Valley’s Water Quality Challenges

Steelmaking coal mining has been central to the Elk Valley economy for generations, providing employment and economic activity while creating long-term environmental challenges.

One of the most significant is the release of selenium and other substances from waste rock generated during mining.

When rock containing naturally occurring minerals is excavated and exposed to air and water, precipitation and runoff can carry selenium, nitrate and other constituents into surrounding streams and rivers.

Selenium is an essential trace element for humans and animals, but elevated concentrations can adversely affect aquatic organisms, particularly fish reproduction and development.

Nitrate, associated in part with explosives used in mining, is another substance requiring management. Calcite formation can also affect streambeds and aquatic habitat.

Because multiple mining operations contribute to water quality pressures within the same watershed, addressing the problem requires more than individual treatment projects. It requires a coordinated, long-term approach that considers the cumulative effects of mining throughout the Elk River system.

A Water Quality Plan More Than a Decade in Development

The Elk Valley Water Quality Plan originated in 2013, when Teck, the former operator of the mines now operated by EVR, began developing a comprehensive response in consultation with the Province of British Columbia, the Ktunaxa Nation, scientists and local communities.

The provincial government approved the plan in 2014.

Its central objectives are to stabilize and reverse increasing concentrations of selenium, calcite and other mining-related constituents, improve aquatic ecosystem health and establish a framework for continued mining operations.

The plan combines water treatment infrastructure, monitoring, scientific research, pollution prevention and adaptive management.

Implementation is a long-term undertaking. Mining-related substances can continue to be released from existing waste rock for many years, making sustained treatment and source control important even as individual projects are completed.

Line Creek plant will use a biological treatment process

Four Facilities Now Treating Up to 97.5 Million Litres Daily

EVR’s water treatment network now includes four operating facilities across the Elk Valley.

• West Line Creek Active Water Treatment Facility: 17.5 million litres per day.
• Elkview Saturated Rock Fill: 20 million litres per day.
• Fording River South Active Water Treatment Facility: 20 million litres per day.
• Fording River North Saturated Rock Fill: 40 million litres per day.

Together, these facilities have the capacity to treat 97.5 million litres of mine-affected water daily.

The facilities use different treatment technologies to remove mining-related constituents before treated water returns to the watershed.

Active water treatment facilities use engineered treatment processes, while saturated rock fills use biological processes within specially managed rock environments to reduce concentrations of certain substances.

According to EVR, the operating facilities remove between 95% and 99% of selenium from the water they treat.

That is a significant treatment performance measure, although it does not mean that 95% to 99% of all selenium entering the Elk River watershed is being removed. Overall watershed improvements depend on how much affected water is captured and treated, the performance of each facility and the continuing release of substances from mining areas.

More Treatment Capacity Planned for 2027

The West Line Creek expansion is not the final stage of EVR’s water treatment program.

Two additional water treatment construction projects are underway, with EVR projecting another 30 million litres of daily treatment capacity by 2027.

If completed as planned, the projects would increase the company’s combined treatment capacity to approximately 127.5 million litres per day.

The additional infrastructure is intended to increase the volume of mine-affected water that can be treated and support further reductions in downstream concentrations of mining-related substances.

However, treatment capacity alone does not establish the environmental outcome. The effectiveness of the overall program must ultimately be measured through water quality trends, regulatory compliance and the health of aquatic ecosystems.

Monitoring Water Quality Across the Watershed

EVR reports that its monitoring program includes regular sampling at more than 170 water quality locations and over 100 biological monitoring stations throughout the Elk Valley and Koocanusa Reservoir.

Monitoring helps identify emerging environmental concerns, measure the effectiveness of treatment facilities and track changes in aquatic ecosystems.

According to EVR, selenium and nitrate concentrations have stabilized and are declining downstream of treatment facilities.

One important monitoring location is on the Elk River at Sparwood, downstream of the company’s mining operations. Measurements at this permitted compliance location provide an indication of how selenium concentrations are changing over time in relation to regulatory limits.

EVR reports that results at this location show selenium concentrations stabilizing and decreasing as additional water treatment capacity has come online.

However, watershed-wide trends must also be considered alongside conditions in individual tributaries, where concentrations and ecological impacts may differ.

The Province of British Columbia maintains the Elk Valley Water Quality Hub, providing public access to monitoring, water quality and compliance information.

Monitoring Fish Populations and Aquatic Health

Water chemistry is only one measure of the watershed’s condition. Fish populations, aquatic insects and other biological indicators help determine whether improvements in water treatment are translating into healthier ecosystems.

EVR works with external registered professionals to monitor fish populations, including Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the Upper Fording River.

According to EVR, monitoring results from 2025 indicate that the Upper Fording River trout population was stable, with adult and juvenile numbers around their long-term averages.

These findings provide an important measure of aquatic conditions, although continued monitoring is necessary to identify longer-term trends and distinguish natural population variability from mining-related effects.

The Upper Fording River is particularly important because it supports a population of Westslope Cutthroat Trout within a watershed directly affected by steelmaking coal mining.

Maintaining healthy fish populations remains one of the most meaningful measures of the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan’s long-term success.

Preventing Contamination Before It Reaches the Water

While treatment infrastructure receives much of the attention, EVR is also investing in research aimed at reducing the release of mining-related substances at their source.

Preventing selenium and nitrate from entering waterways can reduce the amount of water requiring treatment and potentially lower long-term environmental management costs.

One initiative involves the use of liners in blasting operations to prevent nitrate associated with explosives from coming into contact with water.

EVR reports that this approach has been implemented across its Elk Valley operations and is now used in a majority of blast holes.

Another area of research involves suboxic zones, which are designed to limit oxygen within waste rock piles and create conditions that may reduce the release of selenium and nitrate.

EVR is conducting two full-scale trials of this technology at its Elkview and Fording River operations.

The company is also incorporating water quality considerations earlier in mine planning, with the objective of reducing environmental impacts before they occur.

These measures are important because treating water after mining-related substances have been released is only one part of a sustainable water management strategy. Reducing those releases at their source offers the potential for longer-lasting environmental benefits.

Provincial Oversight and Public Accountability

The Elk Valley Water Quality Plan operates within a provincial regulatory framework that establishes water quality requirements, monitoring obligations and compliance measures.

The plan was originally approved by British Columbia in 2014 and has continued to evolve as additional scientific information, treatment technologies and monitoring results become available.

Government oversight, independent scientific assessments and public reporting are important to evaluating whether EVR is meeting its environmental obligations.

The Elk River watershed supports communities, wildlife, recreation and downstream ecosystems extending into Koocanusa Reservoir. Water quality is therefore a regional concern that extends beyond individual mining operations.

EVR states that it continues to work with the Province, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders to share monitoring results and information about its water quality management activities.

Public access to regulatory monitoring and compliance data provides an opportunity to assess the company’s reported progress against measurable environmental outcomes.

What the Investment Means for the Elk Valley

The expansion of the West Line Creek facility represents measurable progress in one of the Elk Valley’s largest long-term environmental management programs.

With four operating treatment facilities, approximately $2 billion invested in water treatment infrastructure and further capacity scheduled for 2027, EVR has established a substantial network of facilities to address mining-related water quality challenges.

The scale of that investment reflects both the importance of steelmaking coal production to the regional economy and the environmental responsibilities associated with decades of mining.

The long-term success of the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan will depend on more than the volume of water EVR can treat. It will be measured by sustained reductions in selenium and nitrate, improved conditions in affected tributaries, healthy fish populations and continued compliance with provincial environmental requirements.

For the Elk Valley, the West Line Creek expansion is another step toward those objectives. The broader challenge of protecting the Elk River watershed will continue well beyond 2027, requiring sustained investment, scientific monitoring and accountability as mining operations continue.

Learn more about the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan on EVR’s website and view monitoring results through the B.C. Elk Valley Water Quality Hub.