Husky oil spill: Prince Albert, Sask. shores up 3 alternative sources of water

The City of Prince Albert has three different sources supplying the water treatment plant with clean water in the wake of a Husky oil spill that took away its main source, the North Saskatchewan River.

For most of Tuesday the 30 kilometre waterline connecting the city's water treatment plant to the South Saskatchewan River has been filling the city's reservoirs. Another waterline connecting the Little Red River to the treatment plant is also up and running. 

• Husky oil spill: Prince Albert water situation stabilizing
• Cleanup still underway at Husky oil spill site in Sask.

City manager Jim Toye said the city is also filling its storm retention ponds, to shore up their water supply if anything goes wrong with the two lines.

"It's not going to taps just yet, we're making sure they are stable and tomorrow we'll have a blend of all three and they will be going into the city reservoirs and out to the distribution system," Toye said.

This week Toye said he expects the city to provide a timeline for when it can offer regular water service to residents and businesses and allowing car washes and laundromats to open for business again.

"We want all our local business back on as soon as we can," Toye said. "We're also providing a timeline for when we can return to regular service in the city and the rural water services."

Toye added Husky is going to have a representative from its insurance company in Prince Albert this week so residents and businesses can make claims for unexpected expenses incurred in the wake of the oil spill. 

The city is constantly testing the water at the treatment plant, alongside the Water Security Agency and Husky Energy. The oil slick can't be seen on the North Saskatchewan River, and the Water Security Agency will report to city officials tomorrow on the status of the water quality on the river. 

Watch the City of Prince Albert's Facebook Live update here:

But the city is working under a 90-day timeline to see how it can continue to draw water from the two waterlines when the temperatures start to drop in the fall.

"We figure we have about 90 days until it's going to get fairly cold in Saskatchewan so we have about 90 days to try and figure out if we're unable to take water from the North Saskatchewan River, we need to figure out what other sources there may be," Toye said.

He added the most likely source of water would come from the Little Red River which isn't too far from the city. 

Exhibition goes on

Toye said he's pleased to see the Prince Albert Exhibition is going on as planned despite the water situation in the city.

On the opening day of the exhibition, people were out and about basking in the sunshine. Jayme White brought along his wife and children. He said it's nice to be able to bring his family out but there's mixed feelings as to whether or not the exhibition should go ahead in light of the water situation.

White was among the rural water customers shut off two weeks ago with no notice shortly after a Husky oil pipeline spill leaked into the North Saskatchewan River.  

"It's been a little rough we found out from a neighbour we were shut off. We've been relying on a neighbour's well-water. We just used bottled water for drinking," White said.  

White added his rural municipality is hauling in water from Elk Ridge and Waskesui to keep residents supplied. 

"But we're still conserving water, at least we can have a shower and get bathrooms up and running," White said. 

Jody Boulet, president of the Dief's Chiefs hockey club told CBC News the exhibition is one of the biggest fundraisers for local organizations and he's happy to see the show go on. 

"For local groups it's a major fundraiser and a lot of those funds make it back into the community in different ways and it's important those types of things happen," he said. "It's a positive distraction."