Husky oil spill: Prince Albert, Sask., begins bypass line operations for fresh water

A new source of water is almost ready to flow into Prince Albert's water treatment plant from two improvised lines built in recent daysto provide an alternate supply after intake valves in the North Saskatchewan River were closed due to a leak of oil from a Husky Energy pipeline upstream of the city.

• 'We're fairly confident': Prince Albert hopes new water supply will work
• Prince Albert testing alternate water lines

"It's good-quality water," Prince Albert Mayor GregDionnesaid Saturday, referring to a line that is drawing water from the Little Red River, also known as the Spruce River. "It's actually a little better quality than the North Saskatchewan, so our plant should be able to handle it very well."

The city of 35,000 has been under a local state of emergency since Monday andDionnesaid residents and businesses have done an excellent job of curtailing their water use.

The spill, from a Husky Energy pipeline near Maidstone, Sask., led to some 200,000 to 250,000 litres of heavy oil entering the river. Officials said that cleanup efforts had collected about 106,000 litres of material.

Dionnesaid there'sa water testing lab at the treatment plant andofficials areable to evaluate the water constantly.

RAW: Crews build temporary waterline for Prince Albert

8 years ago

Duration 0:55

RAW: Crews build temporary water line for Prince Albert.

The water in the Little Red River line is fromAnglinLake, north of Prince Albert. Dams were opened to release water down a winding river to a Prince Albert park where it is being pumped another six kilometres to the city's treatment plant.

Another water line extends some 30 kilometres south to the South Saskatchewan River. That line was also being put into operation Saturday, with expectationsit too will provide water.

"We hope to get [the treatment plant] running almost at capacity,"Dionnesaid, adding that city engineers were being cautious about expectations.

"Pushing water 30 kilometres is a push," he said.

Water from bothrivers will first move to settling ponds, to deal with sediment, and then enter the treatment plant's system. Officials said that should happen on Monday.

Dionnesaid the city's backup source, if the two water lines don't work out, is water from a storm water retention pond. City officials said Saturday they have enough in that system to last until Tuesday.

River clean-up continues

Also on Saturday, provincial officials reported that six kilometreshave been cleaned along the river in the area where the leak originated.

Wes Kotyk,executive director ofEnvironmental Protection for the provincial government, said thecrews are still in the preliminary stages of cleaning.

Cleaning efforts are advancing at a rate of about two kilometres per day, he said. Work is also underway to survey a 38-kilometre stretch of river to determine if there are any problem areas.

Prince Albert started work on two alternate supply lines earlier in the week.

City manager Jim Toyesaid Saturday morninghe hoped the water line from the South Saskatchewan Riverwould be operational in the afternoon. Workers were going from pump to pump on the temporary lines, to check on the flow.

• Family reunion goes ahead, despite water woes in Saskatchewan
• Husky pipeline expansiondidn't trigger review, Environment Minister says

The stakesare also high for people living in the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert, where the water supply has been shut down.

Those people about 8,000 altogether are relying on stored water anddeliveries of water that is under acautionary advisory from the rural municipality'swater utility service. The City of Prince Albert usually sells and supplies treated water to the rural utility, but it cut off that supply.

Thecity said it willnot resume supplying the rural system until it knows how much waterthe new line canprovide.

The water line to the South Saskatchewan was originally scheduled to be finished on Friday, but work wassuspended that night whenheavy traffic fromthe long weekend raised safety concerns for workers.

• Rural Sask. residents wait for water after Husky spill, and for answers about compensation

On Friday, officials said a line set up in Little Red River park (which will use water that works its way downstreamfromAnglinLake via the Spruce River) was ready to operate and deliver water as soon as it had been tested.

Anglin Lake could experience a .12-metre drop in water over the next 30 days as wateris redirected and dams are opened to get water to Prince Albert.