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City shuts down river intake; oil detected downstream from Paynton

Jul 22, 2016 | 12:43 PM

Oil has been detected downstream from Paynton, where efforts have been ongoing to contain a spill of diluted heavy oil into the North Saskatchewan River.

The city of North Battleford said Friday, July 22 it had shut down the F.E. Holliday Water Treatment Plant, after oil was detected in the Delmas area at roughly 11 a.m.

“This morning they saw the sheen downstream from us,” Stewart Schafer, the city’s director of operations said Friday. “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 Energy has estimated roughly 200,000 to 250,000 litres of crude oil and other material leaked into the river on Thursday from its pipeline near Maidstone, Sask.

Spokesperson Susanne Abe said the city was working with Husky to install a barrier around the water intake to protect it.

Abe said the city’s water needs can be adequately supplied from well water.

“We filled up all the water reservoirs and the water tower and we use Treatment Plant Number One which is a ground water treatment plant for the water supply,” she said. “I think we can really supply water for consumption.”

She said the only conservation measure in effect was to ask residents to ensure they are observing the odd or even watering schedule.

North Battleford’s mayor’s biggest concern wasn’t the water supply. Ian Hamilton said he’s more worried about the potential for pollution along the riverbank.

“I think we have everything under control as far as our quality of water,” Hamilton said in an interview Friday morning. “But my concern would be more… the environmental issues of whether or not the slick will get down to our area… truthfully, right now, the low levels of water in the river are, if it does get down here, it’s going to be significant that the sandbars and Finlayson Island and that sort of thing could be impacted.”

Husky attempted to contain the spill roughly 40 km upriver from North Battleford with booms.

“What we do know is the leak was not under the river, as far as we can see. The leak was kind of in a location near the river,” explained chief operations officer Rob Peabody adding some of the oil actually spilled on land but was being recovered.

He said it could be several weeks before the cause of the spill is known. Peabody was unaware how old the pipeline was, but added Husky would’ve conducted regular inspections.

The pipeline runs from Husky’s heavy oil operations to its facilities in Lloydminster. It carries oil mixed with diluent – an additive used to ease the oil’s flow through the pipeline.

The spill happened near the Highway 21 bridge north of Maidstone Thursday, July 21.  Wes Kotyk, executive director of the environmental protection branch of the ministry of Environment said several ministries, Husky, and the federal government were working together on the response. He said 43,000 litres of the 200,000 or 250,000 litres spilled had been recovered on land.

The total amount is equivalent to two railcars, but it wasn’t known how much ended up in the river.

–With files from the Canadian Press.

 

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