Killarney channel water fouled by sunken barge, diesel spill

A diesel spill in theKillarney channel has caused the town to switch to water that will be brought in by truck.

Burgess Hawkins,Manager of Environmental Health for the Sudbury and District Health Unit, saida barge sank in the channel on Mondayand is the source of the spill.

Hawkins saidnormally, the town uses water from the channel, but it managed to shut down it's intake before drawing in polluted water. Now,thetownreservoirwill have to be filled with water brought in on trucks.

"Based on the information we have, [our town water]has not been affected," he said. "They have shut down their intakes so there's no contamination going to get in and they're working from their reservoir."

However, anyone who takes drinking water directly from the Killarney channel is advised not to consume it or bathe in it and those on the town system are asked to conserve water as much as possible.

Hawkins saidpotable water will be available at the municipal offices. People are asked to bring in their own disinfected containers.

The barge that sunkwas carrying limestone, which isnot a problem for water quality. But it also carried up to a thousand litresof hydrocarbons and diesel, he said. It's notknown exactlyhow much of that leaked.

Hawkins saidthe town can probably go for an "extended period" on this modified system.

The Ministry of Environment isinvestigating and managing the clean-up.