Saskatoon examines water preparedness in wake of oil spill

After last month's Husky Energy oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River left North Battleford and Prince Albert scrambling for clean water, the City of Saskatoon is looking at the security of its own water supply.

Committee passed a new report Tuesday afternoon focusing on what alternative water sources are available, and what the city might do to prepare for a total loss of water supply. 

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"Of course the city of Saskatoon has used the South Saskatchewan River for decades and decades without incident," said Jeff Jorgenson, General Manager of Transportation and Utilities for the city.

"We've not had an event bring the city to its knees as [has] happened in North Battleford or Prince Albert over the last number of weeks."

Pipelines upstream

The report highlights six pipelines carrying material like natural gas or crude oil that could impact the South Saskatchewan River in the event of a spill.

"The city's water supply is totally dependent on the South Saskatchewan River. If the river was taken away from us for whatever reason, you know through an oil spill, or some other kind of upstream contamination, the city would be in a very difficult situation," said Jorgenson.

The city's water supply is totally dependent on the South Saskatchewan River.- Jeff Jorgenson

For example, he said if Saskatoon's water supply were to be cut off tomorrow due to contamination, the city's water supply wouldn't last for more than one week.

Jorgenson said there are "many contingency scenarios" in place for smaller-scale events, but the city needs to be prepared for a major occurrence which would choke the water supply completely.  

"Some of the things we're looking at are 'What would our contingency be? What are other sources of raw water we could use?' There are aquifers in and around the Saskatoon area that might be able to supply that water and of course the North Saskatchewan River," said Jorgenson.

Planning needed

Jorgenson said more planning and infrastructure would need to be in place to draw water from an alternative source, something he says "would not be done at a small cost."

Jorgensen said the final decision on how to proceed rests with council.

He said, if they decide to move forward, a study would be conducted to figure out what options would work best for Saskatoon. It could be completed as soon as 2017.

"Really, the goal of the report and the goal of our work is not to make a decision on what to do or specifically implement an infrastructure option. It's basically just to get a good understanding of what the options are. That gives council the full package of information that they'll need to make that decision."