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No timeline for city to resume water intake from North Sask River

Aug 26, 2016 | 12:00 PM

There is still no timeline for Prince Albert to reopen the water treatment intake from the North Saskatchewan River.

City manager Jim Toye spoke to paNOW to provide an update on the recent water quality assessments done by the Water Security Agency (WSA) in the wake of July’s Husky Energy oil spill. The city of Prince Albert closed the intake from the river on July 24.

“We don’t have a timeline on [reopening the intake] yet,” Toye said. “Our regulatory body is the Water Security Agency and they will be the ones that will tell us when we can start.”

Preliminary results of water quality tests done by the provincial agency have been positive so far, with only one result exceeding their standard for safe drinking water. Sixteen samples, however, have shown the water is not safe for aquatic life.

When asked if the city is encouraged by these results, Toye agreed but explained there were other factors involved.

“It is good,” he said. “There are some other factors here, our river is going to rise by two meters, which probably doesn’t help.”

Toye explained that rising water levels in the North Saskatchewan River this week could result in more oil and diluent passing through the city.

An impact study of the oil spill on the quality of water in the river by the Water Security Agency should be completed shortly, and Toye expects to have a clearer idea on a timeline for reopening the intake once the WSA shares those results.

Two pipelines are currently pumping fresh water from the Little Red and South Saskatchewan Rivers into the city’s water reservoirs for treatment.

 

shane.oneill@paNOW.com

On Twitter: @stroneill