Water Stewardship at Suncor- 2023 Report on Sustainability - Seite 2

Our approach

• A holistic approach to water management is necessary to sustainably develop our oil sands mines and meet our commitments to reclaiming disturbed lands. This approach needs to consider all components of water management, including reducing, recycling, reusing and releasing treated mine water.
• Water at oil sands mines contains components such as sand, silt, clay, organics, salts, and a range of metals. These constituents are largely common to process water used in other types of mining and many other industrial activities. There is a wide range of proven technologies already in use in Canada and globally to treat process water so that it is safe for release.
• We have made significant investments in applying, adapting and testing different water management approaches and the effectiveness of various treatment processes and technologies on oil sands mine water to achieve levels safe for release to the environment.
• Every site is different and requires flexibility when choosing appropriate technologies for treatment. Our solutions for water management will continue to include reuse and recycling and where water release is appropriate, it will be protective of the environment and be considered with the input and knowledge of Indigenous communities.

Monitoring
Monitoring is critical for measuring the effectiveness of our water management processes. We are required to monitor water quality on our sites and assess ecosystem impacts in the watersheds where we operate. We also participate in the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) program along with Indigenous communities and government stakeholders to conduct regional monitoring. The OSM program is specifically focused on tracking potential environmental impacts from oil sands facilities. It also assesses potential cumulative environmental effects from oil sands development to help inform future monitoring, mitigation and management decisions.

Water performance

Mining
While our oil sands mines do not operate in a water-stressed region, our water management practices focus on minimizing Athabasca River water diversion, maximizing the recycling of process-affected water and minimizing the onsite storage of water. We continue to operate well below our annual water licences. Water consumption efficiency at our mining and upgrading facilities is largely affected by design and configuration. Water withdrawal often depends on the amount of annual precipitation. Suncor's water withdrawal remained relatively consistent in 2022. In 2022, Base Plant decreased both freshwater consumption and intensity by 8% at 12.25 Mm3 and 0.67 m3 /m3 of hydrocarbon production respectfully. This is due to improved water management, along with more accurate tracking systems. Fort Hills' freshwater consumption decreased by approximately 20% in 2022 to 8.52 Mm3 with an intensity of 0.90 m3 /m3 of hydrocarbon production as less water was required in the operation. At Syncrude, annual freshwater consumption totaled 39.87 Mm3, increasing by 8% due to higher production rates compared to last year. Syncrude had a freshwater consumption intensity of 2.31 m3 /m3 of hydrocarbon production.