+ Why is rök Glacier Water selling water at all?

This venture provides an innovative and sustainable solution to fund the redevelopment of the historic Fortress Mountain Resort. Ongoing reinvestment of revenues from the sale of rök Glacier Water will also create opportunities to support ongoing land reclamation efforts, sustainability initiatives, charitable contributions to the local community and more.

The reopening of Fortress Mountain Resort presents a tremendous opportunity to grow and diversify Alberta’s economy through sport, increase domestic and international tourism, and provide families and thrill-seekers with the opportunity to make lifelong memories in our wonderful province.

Fortress Mountain Resort is dedicated to providing accessible, affordable and fun year-round mountain recreation and education opportunities while maintaining and improving the spectacular area that we’re privileged to operate our business in.

+ Where does rök Glacier Water come from?

Rök Glacier Water is sourced from an unnamed, non-fish bearing stream near Fortress Mountain. This stream flows from an underground rock glacier that has remained untouched by natural disasters and man-made pollutants for thousands of years. Ours is the only rock glacier water available for purchase anywhere on earth.

+ Where does rök Glacier Water come from?

The water source that feeds the glacial stream that rök Glacier Water comes from is a naturally renewing resource. We are committed to protecting and preserving our water source and never want to take more than nature can provide and replenish each year. To help us preserve our source and promote sustainable flows in the Kananaskis valley area, we have implemented a Source Water Management Plan and closely monitor the physical attributes of the water source and the climate in the surrounding environment with multiple weather stations.

Beyond the environment, we are continually investing in our water ecosystem and advancing scientific understanding of the management and protection of water resources. This includes partnerships with several universities in Western Canada that are undertaking research within our watershed.

+ What kind of commitment does rök Glacier Water have to sustainability?

The water source that feeds the glacial stream that rök Glacier Water comes from is a naturally renewing resource. We are committed to protecting and preserving our water source and never want to take more than nature can provide and replenish each year. To help us preserve our source and promote sustainable flows in the Kananaskis valley area, we have implemented a Source Water Management Plan and closely monitor the physical attributes of the water source and the climate in the surrounding environment with multiple weather stations.

Beyond the environment, we are continually investing in our water ecosystem and advancing scientific understanding of the management and protection of water resources. This includes partnerships with several universities in Western Canada that are undertaking research within our watershed.

+ What kind of commitment does rök Glacier Water have to sustainability?

We believe that intentional sustainability should always be at the forefront of everything we do. From sourcing and transporting our water, to packaging and distributing it. We have gone to great lengths to reduce waste, ensure our processes are sustainable, protect the environment, conserve energy and collaborate with likeminded partners.

+ What kind of specific initiatives has rök Glacier Water undertaken to offset its environmental impact and promote sustainability?

• rök’s industry-leading carbonation and canning processes reduce our wastewater output to a third of the output from other bottlers through the use of water-saving equipment and ongoing sustainability efforts.

• rӧk has taken a more conservative approach to lighting in our canning facility by adopting energy-efficient fixtures and bulbs. We also take advantage of the natural sunlight flowing into our building.

• All rök staff members undergo extensive education and sustainability training.

• rök has eliminated all non-natural chemicals from our cleaning agents so as not to contaminate wastewater and we work in tandem with water quality experts to improve the purity of wastewater from operations.

• rök contracts a well-maintained fleet of trucks that use ultra-low sulphur diesel to improve fuel efficiency.

• rök tracks all of our transportation emissions so we can target additional reductions and offsets (in addition to existing carbon taxes implemented by the government).

• The aluminum used in our packaging was selected specifically for its recyclability and infinite use capability.

• In partnership with a packaging company, rök has designed and manufactured a new cardboard 6pk Holder that is 100% recyclable locally and 100% biodegradable.

+ How much energy is required to produce and transport rök Glacier Water?

Having a can of rök Glacier Water placed in stores on the west coast of North America is 3 to 6 times less energy intensive than it is to transport the equivalent bottled spring water from outside of North America. A large portion of our energy savings come from the aluminum cans we use and from being local to North America.

To transport 50,000L of rok glacier water to our facility in Calgary requires 43.9 L of Diesel fuel which equates to an Energy Intensity of 0.0316 MJ/L or 0.0088 KWh/L

+ What kind of purification process do rök Glacier Water products undergo? / Are any chemicals added to rök Glacier Water products?

rök Glacier Water comes from one of the purest water sources in the world: a rock glacier buried 70m below the earth’s surface. It has remained untouched by pollution deposition over the past thousands of years and has the perfect underground filtration system. Nature has already purified the water used in rök products and no additional purification or chemical processes or additives are necessary.

+ How much water does rök Glacier Water remove from the rock glacier?

rök Glacier Water is permitted to source and sell up to 50,000 cubic meters of potable water from the glacier stream annually, which is less than 1% of the stream’s annual water flow.

+ Does rök Glacier Water’s removal of water from the glacial stream impact the availability of water for vital ecosystems and/or wildlife?

rök Glacier Water is permitted to use less than 1% of the glacial stream’s annual water flow, which negates any inflow or downstream impacts on wildlife. In addition, the stream that our water is sourced from is a non-fish bearing stream and as such there is no impact on aquatic wildlife due to our operations.

+ What kind of packaging does rök Glacier Water use?

What kind of packaging does rök Glacier Water use? rök Glacier Water uses recyclable aluminum and cardboard packaging.

+ How sustainable is the packaging used by rök Glacier Water?

rök Glacier Water believes in a sustainability-first approach to sourcing packaging and all of our packaging is recyclable. Our cans are made from 95%-100% recycled content aluminum, which is infinitely recyclable and one of the most recycled materials on the planet. Our 6pk Holders are made from 100% recycled cardboard and are 100% biodegradable. Both the aluminum and cardboard used in our packaging can be recycled and used again in a circular economy that prevents it from becoming waste or pollution.

We believe that there is always room for improvement, which is why we continue to search for opportunities to make our packaging and processes even more sustainable. We also work closely with vendors, governments, industry partners and consumers to increase the collection and recycling rates of aluminum and cardboard packaging at the community level.

+ What kind of effect will rök Glacier Water production have on the local community and economy?

It is critical to us that our success not only rewards those directly involved with rök Glacier Water, be it our staff, our guests, or our shareholders, but that it also provides support for our greater community as much as possible. The production and sale of rök Glacier Water will bring a number of benefits to our entire community, not the least of which will be funding for the redevelopment and operation of the historic Fortress Mountain Resort, which will ultimately help drive economic activity and employment throughout the Kananaskis valley.

Additional benefits that will result from rök’s activities will include significant increases in employment opportunities, the provision of housing and above average wage programs for staff who face higher costs of living in the Kananaskis region, ongoing land reclamation, development of significant educational grants, additional funding programs, and charitable supports that will help the entire community to prosper into the future.

+ Will rök Glacier Water production increase in the future and will this have an increased effect on the environment as more water is removed from the rock glacier?

Prior to entering production, rök Glacier Water conducted a thorough evaluation and analysis of the impact that operations would or could have on the environment. This process was based on the withdrawal allowance available to us according to our water licence, which includes not only water being used commercially for rök Glacier Water products, but also water allocated for municipal use by Fortress Mountain Resort. As such, if rök Glacier Water’s commercial production were ever to increase (within the limits of our allotted withdrawal allowance), there would be no further impact to the environment beyond what has already been assessed.

+ The water from the rock glacier flows into the Bow River. Why isn’t water being removed downstream where removal would require less energy and have less of an impact on the environment by eliminating the need to truck it to the canning facility in Calgary?

rök Glacier Water’s intention is to use glacier water in its purest form. Once water from the rock glacier flows downstream, it combines with the Bow River watershed and is exposed to impurities such as agricultural and pesticide runoff, industrial discharge pollutants, airborne pollution, sewage and wastewater, mining activities, accidental highway or rail line spills, etc. The water at the glacial stream source is free of any potential impurities.

+ What will revenue from rök Glacier Water products be used for?

Revenues will be used for redevelopment of the historic Fortress Mountain Resort. Ongoing reinvestment of revenues from the sale of rök Glacier Water will also create opportunities to support ongoing land reclamation efforts, sustainability initiatives, charitable contributions to the local community and more.

+ Is the glacier water being used to produce rök Glacier Water a renewable resource?

Yes, the water source that feeds in the glacial stream that rök Glacier Water comes from is a naturally renewing resource.

+ How is rök Glacier Water connected to Fortress Mountain?

Perched high in the Canadian Rockies, Fortress Mountain Resort is home to the rock glacier that rök Glacier Water is sourced from. The rock glacier was discovered on Fortress’ lease in recent years, but has been the source of its potable water supply since 1968. rök Glacier Water is an affiliate of Fortress Mountain Resort and revenues from the sale of rök Glacier Water products will be used, in part, to contribute to the redevelopment of the historic resort.

The reopening of Fortress Mountain Resort presents a tremendous opportunity to grow and diversify Alberta’s economy through sport, increase domestic and international tourism, and provide families and thrill-seekers with the opportunity to make lifelong memories in our wonderful province.

+ What kind of carbon footprint will transportation of the water by trucks to the canning facilities in Calgary have? / What kind of energy output will be required to transport the water by truck to the canning facilities in Calgary?

When transporting water to the canning facility in Calgary, rök Glacier Water uses trucks that maximise fuel efficiency and are, on average, 20% more efficient than the average fuel economy of other commercially used trucks in Alberta (https://www.geotab.com/truck-mpg-benchmark/).

Based on generating 0.23314 kg CO2/KWh of power used to determine CO2e every 50,000 L of water transported to our Calgary facility will generate 0.00204Kg of CO2e/L transported (for a total of 102 Kg of CO2e per trip.)…bracelet portion is optional…

rök Glacier Water voluntarily invests in additional carbon offsets, above and beyond the existing carbon taxes imposed by the government, to mitigate 100 per cent of the carbon production that its trucking creates. rök also regularly collaborates with our trucking contractors to review opportunities to increase efficiency and we eagerly look forward to the day in which clean fuel and e-truck options that can successfully function in Alberta’s challenging and harshly cold environment become commercially available.

+ Is rök Glacier Water sourced from an actual glacier?

Yes, rök Glacier Water comes from the outflow of a ‘rock glacier’ located at an altitude of 2,100m in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

+ Is tap water more sustainable than rök Glacier Water?

Tap water is not inherently more sustainable than rök Glacier Water. In fact, municipal tap water is very energy intensive and requires an immense amount of treatment to ensure it is clean and potable. This extensive processing is necessary for two main reasons. First, water strsources, namely rivers, that flow to municipalities are exposed to a number of potential contaminants as they flow from their point of origin to their point of collection, such as agricultural runoff, sewage and septic runoff, industrial spills and sedimentation.

The glacier water use by rök is not impacted by these kinds of contamination points because it is withdrawn directly from a source point known for its natural purity and thus does not require excessive, energy-intensive treatment. Second, the water from a municipal water treatment plant must be treated with chemicals like chlorine to ensure long-term disinfection due to the age and condition of distribution infrastructure. The use of such chemicals is not necessary in the production of rök’s products because of the aforementioned purity of the water and our distribution through new infrastructure and canning processes.

From an Energy Intensity perspective rok is more energy intensive then tap water in our operational energy however we are significantly less energy intensive in our embodied energy. In total including all energy from source to can including the construction of our facility and all consumables we gross 3.24 Kg of CO2e/m3 packaged in 355ml cans. We also offset all of our transportation CO2e Kg to Kg so our net CO2e/m3 is 1.20Kg CO2/m3 packaged in 355ml cans.

It is not easy to obtain CO2e data for water treatment plants or dam construction. However, it is justified to say that the CO2e footprint of the water infrastructure, in this case a dam, water treatment plant and kilometers of distribution pipe required to supply the city water to our facility is significantly more then the embodied carbon in our facility. On average in NA the municipal water treatment energy use is approx. 0.32 Kg of CO2e/m3 however this does not account for embodied carbon in the infrastructure including construction and upgrades over the years, this can account for 1 to 2 Kg of CO2e/m3 annually. When adding in this amount which accounts for a 100 year infrastructure life span of the facility it is expected that municipal tap water is 1.32 Kg of Co2e/m3 to 2.32 Kg of CO2e/m3.

+ Does tap water require less energy than rök Glacier Water?

Bottled water is more energy intensive than municipal tap water because there is a consumption of energy in conveying, treating and packaging the water. However, plastic bottles are about 4.7 times more energy intensive to produce than the recycled aluminum cans used by rök Glacier Water. In addition, using recycled aluminum to create our cans saves 95% of the energy used to make a new can and doesn’t require any new materials to be mined or transported. Also due to the natural purity of the water used by rök, very little energy is necessary for treatment of the water.

+ How will the removal of water from the environment affect the land and wildlife that depend on the water to thrive and survive?

We hold a very high level of respect for the lands that our operations are located on and for the wildlife we share these lands with. It has always and will always be one of our primary intentions to treat the land, wildlife and environment with the care that they deserve.

A thorough environmental evaluation, conducted before rök Glacier Water production began, also determined that the low percentage of water that would be diverted by our operations would be too minimal to affect the surrounding land or wildlife. Our water system has also been specifically designed to operate at an adjustable low withdrawal rate when compared to overall creek flow rate. This further reduces the ability of the system to impact downstream flows.

+ Will rök Glacier Water’s operations contribute to a decline in the annual flow rates of the Bow River?

At maximum usage, water sourced from the glacier stream for rök Glacier Water’s operations would represent 0.91% of the average annual water flow of the stream. In relation to the Kananaskis River, which the glacier stream outflows to, the volume of water used by rök Glacier Water, at maximum usage, would represent 0.011% of average annual water flow. In the grand picture of the watershed, this is viewed as being an insignificant withdrawal that would not contribute to any decline in annual flow rates.

+ What kind of water is ideal to brew with?

When brewing beer, it is best to start with a ‘blank slate’ and then add minerals and other ingredients to achieve the desired flavour and style of beer profile through the brewing process. rök Glacier Water is water that has undergone a natural purification process and therefore provides an excellent foundation for brewing beer.

+ Why has Rapid Ascent Brewing chosen to use rök Glacier Water to brew its beer?

rök Glacier Water comes from a naturally purified source that acts as the perfect base for brewing beer. There is more ‘space’ in the water because it contains the optimal total dissolved mineral content, which provides our brewers with a blank slate that they can use to create a variety of delicious beers. The perfect mineral content and lack of contaminants mean that there is more opportunity to saturate the water with a bright, clean, pure flavour.

+ What does Rapid Ascent Brewing do to conserve water and energy in the brewing process?

A number of methods are employed across Rapid Ascent Brewing’s operations to help conserve water and energy. This includes:

• Recapturing steam from brewing operations to heat the boiler
• Reusing wastewater from tank cleaning activities in the steam boiler
• Repurposing spent grains from beermaking for cattle feed and bread-making in Alberta
• The use of energy-efficient lighting
• Using heat from brewing operations to heat the building