Wasting water, fanning flames
By Lethbridge Herald on March 6, 2026.
Editor,
As wildfires, protracted drought, and water shortages threaten lives throughout the headwaters of the Oldman Watershed, politicians hide behind water coolers.
They emerge to prescribe the clearcutting of forests surrounding selected communities. Then, with a slippery smile, they announce a cunning, attention-diverting plan.
The cryptic fix: the envisioned creation of four-season resorts within Alberta’s headwaters. In other words, they expose—in the name of wholesome fun—a burning desire to build little cities with amusement park attractions within the highly combustible heart and soul of fire-prone forests.
The incendiary plan: create year-round concentrations of people within the very worst of wrong places, i.e., at the head of wind-whipped valleys, at the upstream end of dead-end roads.
People embracing this smoking brand of charred madness must know the existing water supply, already in peril, will fail to meet the projected demand. Add a golf course or two to the equation if you doubt this. And don’t worry about wastewater; someone will take care of that.
The Oldman Watershed, already experiencing water shortages and smouldering under the constant threat of deadly and destructive wildfire, can’t afford to receive, as a first resort, the worst resort imaginable.
David McIntyre,
Crowsnest Pass
10-9
Totally agree with the writer. It’s all about $$$,