30-kilometre waterline to Prince Albert, Sask., finished after oil spill

It travels over grid roads, driveway, culverts, sidewalks and city streets. A 30-kilometre waterline runs from the South Saskatchewan River all the way to the water treatment plant in Prince Albert, Sask.

"Even though there were trials and tribulations we're up and running now, that's the main thing," said city manager Jim Toye. "We never did run out of water."

There are more than 18 diesel pumps along the waterline keeping the water moving through the hose. Now lights have been installed along the waterline's path as well. Security guards are driving up and down along the line making sure it's protected.

"It's been kind of an adventure in a way," said Toye. "It's difficult to keep that number of pumps going at one time. We basically have someone with a fuel truck going up and down that line 24/7 if there are issues."

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​In the early days following the Husky Energy oil spill Prince Albert city officials scrambled to put together a plan knowing that it would be hours before their water would be affected. Three days after first learning of the spill Toye said they finally decided on the 30 kilometre hose.

Toye said it was just a matter of making a decision, quickly. 

"I'm happy we made the decision when we did because now we have something sustainable to carry us over that next 90 to 100 days," said Toye.

Toye openly admits there was some skepticism when they first thought about the waterline. He said people were saying the distance was too far, that it would never work and that they had never tested the water running through it before.

"There was a lot of chaos in here trying to get everything mixed off properly and get the treatment plant adjusted," said water treatment plant manager Andy Busse.

To complicate matters, there's also an eight kilometre hose running from the Little Red River to the intake plant. 

Busse said his crew needed to find the perfect recipe when mixing water from the South Saskatchewan River, Little Red River and a storm retention pond. 

"Obviously the logistics of coordinating both waterlines is huge," said Busse.

"We have radio communications with the South Saskatchewan pipeline crew and with the crew doing the Little Red River. They are on site so we have verbal communication with them on a daily basis."

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Now the focus shifts to the freeze-up period for both Toye and Busse. They predict there's less than 90 days left before their waterlines might not be an option because of dropping temperatures. But Toye said he isn't too worried.

"I think we're also going to try and be as innovative as we can when it comes to the winter source."