By Shane O'Neill

Emergency pipelines nearly done, final testing on the way

Jul 29, 2016 | 6:20 PM

A little more than one week after oil was discovered in the North Saskatchewan River, the South Saskatchewan and Little Red River pipelines are assembled and in the final testing stages before they can begin pumping water into the city’s water retention reservoirs.

City Manager Jim Toye and Manager of Engineering Services Jeff Da Silva, gave an update to media Friday on the status of the two emergency water pipelines being assembled to provide Prince Albert with alternative sources of water.

When asked about the progress of the Little Red River pipeline, Da Silva seemed optimistic that it could begin to pump fresh water sometime this weekend.

“We are able to report that the line is in place with all the pumps and fittings,” Da Silva said. “The contractor has reported that they are ready to begin charging and testing the line.”

The 30 km South Saskatchewan River pipeline has also been assembled as of Friday evening, and the contractor has already begun the charging and testing process.

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Da Silva said the South Sask River line should be operational sometime later tonight, assuming all goes to plan.

News of the pipelines impending completion will ease concerns in the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert as well.

Subscribers to the Prince Albert Rural Water Utility had their water shut off last Sunday

While a boil water advisory remains in place for the R.M., city manager Jim Toye couldn’t provide a solid timeline for when their access to the water line will be restored.

“We don’t want to do it too quickly,” Toye said. “We want to make sure that we can be sustainable with these other sources we have and then we would bring (the Rural Municipality of Prince Albert) on board.”

Toye also made note of the city’s bylaw enforcement since the state of emergency was declared on Monday. He confirmed that as of Friday evening, no tickets had been issued for water conservation violations.

Mayor Greg Dionne was more than pleased when asked about the community’s response to the water conservation efforts.

“Unbelievable,” Dionne said. “You’ve got 40,000 people and you’re asking them to conserve water, and they are. It’s just incredible.”

As for future plans regarding Prince Albert’s water source, Dionne said that council will take everything in to consideration going forward. While the two pipelines are a temporary solution for an emergency, they may inspire more permanent alternatives should the North Saskatchewan River face a similar contamination in the future.

“We have some pretty big aquifers across the river that we think could feed us, so we are going to look at other options,” he said.

shane.oneill@paNOW.com

On Twitter: @stroneill