Drinking water priority in Saskatchewan

In recent months, Wall has been one of the strongest voices in Canadian politics pushing for construction of new pipelines, which he says are urgently needed to create jobs and provide a boost to the country’s slumping oil and gas industry.

The premier praised the work of local leaders affected by the spill, and said they all have his personal cellphone number, and can call to request any other resources.

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Manitoba Regional Chief Kevin Hart and Saskatchewan Regional Chief Bobby Cameron today expressed concerns about the Husky Energy oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River system impacting First Nations territories.

“We think of the big costs and the responsibility for those are on the company … but we also should be concerned … that there’s been business interruption costs for a lot of small businesses and that will need to be a part of the cost to Husky as well”.

As a result, between 200 and 250 cubic metres of oil was spilled into the North Saskatchewan River.

On Wednesday, Dionne announced: “We are doing our best and our priority is, once we get this pumping system set up on Friday, we hope to get enough volume that they will be the priority to turn the water back on”.

Last week the company said it found “pressure anomalies” in the pipeline Wednesday evening but did not shut it down until Thursday morning.

A report from Husky Energy now indicates problems with the pipeline were first detected at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, but the pipeline wasn’t shut down until 10:30 a.m. the next day.

Pushor, the deputy minister, also said that the government would take “appropriate actions” once the investigation is complete.

Wall noted Husky has said it will review what happened and why there was a delay, but added the company’s response to the spill itself appears to have followed protocol.

“Our investigation is going to be comprehensive and it’s going to be thorough, so we will know in due course the sequence of events and what exactly transpired, but right now we’re focused on the response”, Pate said Tuesday.

Crowe said she understands that oil is important and plays a role in people’s everyday lives, but suggested looking at alternatives such as renewable energy. Five booms have been placed on the river with “varied levels of success”, said Wes Kotyk of Saskatchewan’s Environment Ministry.

Mayor Greg Dionne also acknowledged the support given by the provincial government today, with Premier Brad Wall giving a formal address from the legislature in Regina today promising ongoing support from the provincial government to affected municipalities. Prince Albert has about 35,000 residents, and in the surrounding communities there are about 1,200 rural properties that now have no water because of the shutdown.

City council passed an emergency water conservation bylaw, giving city officials the authority to issue $1,400 fines to businesses and residents using potable water unnecessarily. Measures to conserve drinking water were still in place. We’ve been working with them to make this happen.