Environment and Protected Areas - Surface Water Quality Sampling of the Athabasca River and its Tributaries in the Oil Sands Region 2026 Tender

Environment and Protected Areas

About this tender

Alberta Environment and Protected Areas is seeking a provider for ambient surface water quality monitoring throughout the Athabasca River and its tributaries within the oil sands region. The program is an adaptive monitoring initiative that supports the Oil Sands Monitoring Program (OSMP) mandate by addressing key monitoring questions and evaluating potential effects of oil sands development on aquatic ecosystems. Monitoring focuses on priority watersheds where open-pit mining and in situ operations, including Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), are active. The program measures physical, chemical, and biological indicators to detect water quality changes and assess potential cumulative effects across the watershed. Sampling covers parameters associated with bitumen-derived compounds (such as polycyclic aromatic compounds, vanadium, and selenium), parameters that influence transport, fate, and cycling of substances of interest (such as carbon), and indicators of landscape disturbance or altered hydrology and hydrogeology, including nutrients, dissolved and suspended solids, and major ions. The program also examines water quality alongside environmental variables linked to natural processes and human activities, to determine whether changes are occurring, identify potential drivers, and assess their possible association with oil sands development. The geographic scope is the Athabasca Oil Sands region. The notice states that the contract duration is described in the full description, but no specific duration is given on the summary page. The notice type is listed as a Request for Information with a non-competitive procurement method, and full solicitation details are hosted on a third-party site.

Key requirements

• ✓Conduct ambient surface water quality monitoring across Athabasca River and tributaries in oil sands region
• ✓Measure physical, chemical, and biological indicators including bitumen-derived compounds (PACs, vanadium, selenium), carbon cycling parameters, nutrients, dissolved/suspended solids, and major ions
• ✓Evaluate potential cumulative effects of oil sands development on aquatic ecosystems and watershed hydrology
• ✓Support adaptive monitoring program addressing key monitoring questions in priority watersheds with active open-pit mining and SAGD operations

Procurement contact

The notice names a procurement contact for clarification questions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Water funding covers supply, sanitation, wastewater treatment, water efficiency, catchment management and flood risk. A large share is public procurement for infrastructure and services, alongside grants for innovation and access in underserved areas. Bidders and applicants are typically assessed on technical capacity, operating experience and community impact.