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Test results after oil spill show water safe for drinking but exceeds guidelines for protecting aquatic life

Test results from the Water Security Agency indicate water from the North Saskatchewan River is safe for drinking but exceeds national guidelines for protecting aquatic life.

Water intake systems at Prince Albert and North Battleford, Sask., should reopen within weeks

CBC News ·
A series of booms were deployed this summer, to handle Husky's broken pipeline which leaked more than 200,000 litres of oil diluent into the North Saskatchewan River. The company called the break a "sudden, one-time event" caused in part by heavy rain along the south riverbank. (Jason Franson/Canadian Press)

Test results from the Water Security Agency indicate water from the North Saskatchewan River is safe for drinking but exceeds national guidelines for protecting aquatic life. 

On Monday, the WSA released its first set of test results from the river since the Husky pipeline spill, which leaked more than 200,000 litres of oil and chemicals into the water in July. 

According to a statement from the province, Monday's results meet national and provincial drinking water standards. 

However, some samples exceeded the Canadian Protection of Aquatic Life Guidelines. 

An improvised water line, reaching to the South Saskatchewan River, is being used to supply the water treatment plant in Prince Albert, Sask. (CBC)

One of the samples exceeded the recommended level of toluene, a colourless liquid which is used as a solvent, and another had excessive levels of a chemical compound called pyrene. 

An earlier report from the Centre for Toxicology and Environmental Health also found levels that exceeded the guidelines in 37 samples. However, that organization said it did not expect impacts to aquatic life.

In an update provided on Monday, the province said a total 115 animals have now died as a result of the spill.  

Brad Wall on the Husky Energy oil spill

8 years ago
Duration 18:27
Saskatchewan premier discusses efforts to stop the spread of oil in the North Saskatchewan River

The province said water intake systems would reopen when the risk of oil reappearing is considered low and can be detected by monitoring, or when water treatment plants can treat any oil that enters the plant. That is expected to happen within weeks.

In the meantime, the City of Prince Albert, Sask., continues to pump in water from the South Saskatchewan River using a temporary pipeline it built after the spill. 

Although sampling has so far indicated the water is safe to drink, WSA executive director Sam Ferris believes the scale of the emergency response was justified.  

"If you speak to the water plant operators, managers for Prince Albert, North Battleford and Melfort, there was considerable concern at the time," said Ferris. 

"People didn't really know what to expect, the magnitude of the event." 

Crews in Prince Albert, Sask., have deployed pipes and a pumping system in Little Red River Park to draw water from the Spruce River to supply the city's water treatment plant. (CBC)

The WSA is also doing a water safety assessment to further evaluate the water quality.

That investigation will attempt to answer the following questions: 

  • Where is the remaining oil that has not been captured? 
  • What form is it in and is it a risk to city waterworks? 
  • How will it respond in certain conditions, such as flooding or spring break-up? 
  • What short-term and long-term monitoring will be required?
  • Will existing water treatment plants need to carry out additional pre-treatment processes?  

The WSA said it will continue water sampling until at least the end of August. 

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