How About an Under ice bitumen slurry runaway?? email by Stewart Shields to federal and provincial authorities and politicians, Aug 1, 2016
With the knowledge now that bitumen from Western Saskatchewan can very easily reach Prince albert and ruin their water supply, a permanent stand by clean safe water solution is a must before freeze up!! North Battleford or Battleford and indeed Melfort, should also be included in gaining a assured supply of potable water other than from the Saskatchewan River! With the new knowledge that industry is totally unable to stop or control a bitumen runaway on moving waters –these are the type of problems that must be faced in the decision to pipelining bitumen slurry!!
Husky should be very happy to lift the costs for these necessary stand by water facilities since the towns and cities in Northern Saskatchewan provided a safe supply of water for themselves while Husky chased the bitumen spill!! Our hats must come off to those that improvised and quietly acted for their citizens without either government or industries help?? I’m sure there will be first nations settlements that have also relied on the River for their water supplies and I’m confident they too should seek a permanent stand by water solution after what they have just experienced!! We all hope this type of horrendous spill never happens again, but being better prepared for the same or even a far worse “under ice spill” now must be considered!!
There must be a federal review of other possible bitumen releases on moving waters that hold the possibility of a runaway bitumen spill up to and including 550 Km. from source?? How can a far bigger city like Edmonton supply their citizens with safe water should they be hit with an under ice bitumen slurry spill?? This spill will and indeed should bring several scenarios to the front never before thought of until this bitumen slurry runaway gained well over 550 km. from source!!
Stewart Shields
Water flowing through temporary lines to Sask. communities affected by oil spill by Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press, August 1, 2016, CTVNews
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Now that water is starting to flow through temporary lines to Saskachewan communities affected by an oil pipeline spill, planners are beginning to shift more attention on what to do in case their river remains contaminated when winter approaches.
Prince Albert city manager Jim Toye said one of the options that’s being discussed is to return to drawing water from the North Saskatchewan River and treating it for hydrocarbons.
“That’s our major plan right now. We do understand that it doesn’t matter what we’re doing here, we have about 95 days before it starts to get really cold in Saskatchewan, that we can’t be above ground with what’s providing our safe, potable water,” Toye said on Sunday.
The city of about 35,000 shut its intakes on the North Saskatchewan shortly after a Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) pipeline spilled up to 250,000 litres of oil mixed with a lighter hydrocarbon called a diluent into the river near Maidstone almost two weeks ago. Since then, it has been relying on stored water in reservoirs as well as from a storm retention pond to supply its treatment plant while it constructed two temporary, above-ground lines along highways to other rivers in the region.
On Sunday, the city said a line from the Little Red River was running into its treatment plant and that water was flowing through the system.
Another temporary line about 30 kilometres long that was built to the South Saskatchewan River is pumping water, but the water was not being treated and distributed though city pipes until testing is complete.
Closer to the source of the oil leak, North Battleford is also building a temporary line to the town of Battleford and has been relying on well water since shutting its intakes on the North Saskatchewan.
Duane McKay, Saskatchewan’s commissioner of emergency management, said a planning group has been established to come up with options to supply affected communities with water into winter. [No one provides Ernst with water in winter]
Sam Ferris with the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency said that besides treating water for hydrocarbons, other options include drilling new wells as sources for water. [and when fracing contaminates all the groundwater with methane and other hydrocarbons, what then?]
“I think within days of the initial incident, people were looking at long-term solutions, although the focus primarily was in establishing the emergency connections to water supplies,” Ferris told a phone-in news briefing on Sunday.
Toye said Prince Albert staff recently talked about how to treat water for hydrocarbons when they met with Husky officials several days ago. Options include pre-treatment before it enters its water treament plant, or enhancement of the treatment plant. [If Husky poisoned your water, would you trust them with information on water treatment?]
“It’s not built to remove hydrocarbons as it is right now,” Toye said about the plant. He said wells probably woudn’t supply enough water for Prince Albert, which also provides water to other outlying communities.
The province said the cleanup and capture of oil along the affected shorline downstream from the oil spill contines. Close to 50 wildlife deaths have been reported by the province, but a species breakdown was not available.
Husky has said it noticed pressure “anomalies” in part of its pipeline on July 20 and detected the spill the following day, when the line was immediately shut down.
Husky Energy and the province both say the cause of the spill is still under investigation.
The government has said it expects Husky to submit that full report within 90 days of the pipeline breach. [Emphasis added]
Speeding driver damages emergency water line to Prince Albert Sask.
by The Canadian Press, July 31, 2016, CTVNews
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Government officials say efforts to activate a temporary water pipeline following an oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River were interrupted by what they suspect was a motorist who drove over the line too fast.
Workers have been building the 30-kilometre-long pipeline for more than a week in order to supply Prince Albert with an alternate source of water after the city of about 35,000 shut its intakes to prevent oil from the spill upstream from entering its treatment plant.
Duane McKay, Saskatchewan’s commissioner of emergency management, says the line crosses a highway in several places.
McKay says there are ramps at the crossings, but he says it appears a driver may have failed to obey the speed limit at one of the crossings on Saturday and damaged the line.
The city has been relying on stored water from reservoirs and a retention pond since the Husky Energy pipeline near Maidstone leaked up to 250,000 litres of oil and other materials into the North Saskatchewan more than a week ago.
McKay says he believes the damage to the water pipeline has been repaired, but doesn’t know how much of a delay the incident caused.
“These alternative water sources are being pumped in and along the highways,” McKay told a phone-in media briefing on Sunday, noting there are workers at various spots along the line.
“It’s raised the issue of safety and people should pay attention to those limits.”
McKay said the driver that’s suspected to have caused the problem didn’t stick around.
The temporary line runs to the South Saskatchewan River. Prince Albert has also built a shorter line to the Little Red River.
Sam Ferris of Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency said the line to the Little Red is running, but he said the city is still performing quality tests before distributing it to its system.
Ferris said the line to the Little Red should be adequate to supply Prince Albert in the event that the city’s reservoirs run dry and the line to the South Saskatchewan River cannot be brought on line in time.
The province has estimated that the spill has affected the water supply to about 62,000 people in the area.
North Battleford, a city which also draws its water from the North Saskatchewan, has relied on well water since the spill and is constructing its own temporary line to the town of Battleford’s treatment plant.
Husky has said it noticed pressure “anomalies” in part of its pipeline on July 20 and detected the spill the following day, when the line was immediately shut down.
Husky Energy and the province both say the cause of the spill is still under investigation.
The government has said it expects Husky to submit that full report within 90 days of the pipeline breach. [Emphasis added]