Town of Cochrane declares local state of emergency after line break

The Town of Cochrane has declared a local state of emergency as it copes with the aftermath of a major pipeline break over the weekend that has left its water reservoirs at critical levels.

During a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jeff Genung said he signed off on the declaration because it gives the town legal authority to take "extraordinary actions" to deal with what he called the crisis at hand.

The local state of emergency gives the town the power to direct and control response efforts, as well as co-ordinate with the province.

"We had initially put water restrictions in place and that's not working, to be quite frank," Genung said.

"Yesterday [Monday], we saw the single-highest water use day in the month of October by our residents."

According to officials, if residents don't start conserving water immediately, it's anticipated some communities may soon be without water.

The Town of Cochrane said on the weekend that a contractor completing work on behalf of the town had "impacted" its wastewater and water pipelines as it was setting up for drilling operations, resulting in a sewer line break that was sending wastewater into the Bow River.

In an update posted to Cochrane's website on Tuesday, the town says stopping the flow is among its primary objectives, along with maintaining safe drinking water and reservoir levels, and keeping people informed.

The update says the town is still working with the contractor to repair the damaged pipes and minimize leakage as quickly as possible.

On Saturday evening, the town activated its Emergency Co-ordination Centre, allowing for heightened co-ordination between the town, the City of Calgary, Rocky View County, Alberta Environment and Alberta Health Services. 

"Since that time, crews have been working around the clock to mitigate and contain the impact of this incident, working on both the water and wastewater lines to control the flow of water and also stem the wastewater that is currently flowing," said Polley.

The town implemented Level 3 water restrictions on Sunday morning, with residents and businesses asked to reduce their water consumption until further notice. 

On Monday morning, the town took the "added steps" of restricting water to area hotels and a vehicle dealership located northwest of the impacted site, said Polley. He added that the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre has also temporarily closed. 

Cochrane, as well as the City of Calgary, say their drinking water remains safe, with Calgary officials noting they have increased water quality monitoring.

All pathways adjacent to the Bow River from the Highway 22 bridge to Griffin Industrial Point remain closed.

A City of Calgary spokesperson said the city's water services response team continues to carefully monitor the situation and is working closely with the Town of Cochrane.

"We are conducting extra water quality sampling of the Bow River, and as of Monday morning, Calgary's water remains safe to drink," the spokesperson said in an email.

Mark Crowdis, the City of Calgary's manager of water quality and regulatory assurance, said Sunday the city's water remains safe because of the treatment it receives at the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant.

A spokesperson for Alberta's environment minister said Sunday that officials with the department are working with Calgary and Cochrane to ensure drinking water remains safe.

Officials have asked people to stay out of the Bow River as a precaution.