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Water restrictions to remain even after pipe is operating

Aug 4, 2016 | 2:00 PM

Restrictions on water usage in North Battleford will not be lifted anytime soon, even though a pipeline connecting the city to the town of Battleford is expected to be operating by Monday.

Susanne Abe, spokesperson for the city of North Battleford, said even when water begins flowing from Battleford, the city will leave restrictions in place until further notice. She said people need to conserve water so that there is enough for firefighting needs.

Patrick Boyle, a spokesperson with the Water Security Agency, said the water line that will supply treated groundwater to the city from the Town of Battleford was being disinfected Thursday, Aug. 4. The line is expected to replace one third of the treated river water normally supplied by the F.E. Holliday Water Treatment Plant.

“That line has to be disinfected for 24 hours,” Boyle said Thursday. “Once it’s pressurized, and that line is moving forward, we need two sets of samples, and those need to be 24 hours apart. There’s some travel time to the lab and back.”

Boyle said the lines could be operational by either Sunday or Monday.

North Battleford’s reservoirs, which are being supplied entirely by the city’s groundwater treatment plant, have been remaining in the range of 80 to 100 per cent full, Boyle said, adding everything looks “quite positive.”

Provincial and municipal officials have credited the efforts of the public to conserve water, which includes a ban on outdoor watering and washing vehicles with city water.

In addition to the purchase of water from the Town of Battleford, the city’s 12-month plan also includes four additional wells, and a filtration system to pre-treat river water, since the line from Battleford will not function during the winter.

Dr. Kevin McCullum, an official with the ministry of Environment, said manual cleanup has been completed on the first six kilometres of shoreline past the spill site northwest of Maidstone. Water sampling continues, with more than 1,500 samples taken so far and 1,084 analyzed.

Eight animals remain in recovery at the Focus Wildlife facility in Maidstone, McCullum said. The oil spill claimed the lives of at least 71 wild animals.

The rupture of a Husky Energy pipeline two weeks ago caused the leak of as much as 250,000 litres of blended crude oil. Cleanup efforts have recovered 139,000 litres.

 

Geoff Smith is battlefordsNOW’s News Director, business and agriculture reporter. He can be reached at geoff.smith@jpbg.ca or tweet him @smithco.  

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 2:17 p.m., August 4, 2016 to include information obtained from an interview with Susanne Abe.