North Battleford in Saskatchewan had to shut down its water intake plant on 22 July due to a pipeline oil spill. The pipeline
Approximately 200 000 - 250 000 l of crude oil have leaked from Husky Energy’s pipeline into the river near Maidstone. Yet, no reason for the spill has been discovered, as the pipeline was subject to monthly inspections.
Stewart Schafer, North Battleford’s Director of Operations, stated: “[On 22 July] they saw the sheen downstream from us. Husky reported to water security that they … saw a sheen and so everything gets shut right down. How much, how big, I couldn’t tell you.”
Husky and the government are using booms across the river in attempt to remove the spilled oil from the water.
Whilst cleanup operations are continuing, Husky Energy have declared it will cover all costs of remediation.
Mayor Ian Hamilton stated: “I’m being told that these efforts are going to ensure the safety of the water supply and the citizens’ security.”
Similarly, the Environment Ministry’s Ralph Bock explained: Right now, we’re focusing on let’s just the minimise the footprint of this and we’ll do our damage assessments once we’re sure we’re not going to be causing any more damage.”
Wes Kotyk, also from the Environment Ministry, said: “This is a rare event. We don’t have incidents of this magnitude very often,” as it has been years since there has been an oil spill in the river/water.
Edited from various sources by Stephanie Roker
Sources: Financial Post, Global News, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, iNews800AM