City imposes mandatory water ban as oil spill response continues
The city of North Battleford has imposed a mandatory ban on outdoor water use, while the cleanup continues from an oil leak into the North Saskatchewan River.
The ban covers all watering of lawns and gardens, as well as washing vehicles, buildings, and driveways. In a news release issued Sunday, July 24, the city said people who disregard the ban will be fined. In addition, car washes and laundromats were to remain closed, and city officials were contacting large commercial users of water.
North Battleford is relying entirely on water stored in reservoirs, and on its ground water treatment plant. The river water intake for the other plant was shut off early Saturday. In a briefing Sunday afternoon, Sam Ferris, an official with the Water Security Agency, said North Battleford’s supply was holding up well, but added the city is working on alternative sources.
Downstream at Prince Albert, which normally relies entirely on the North Saskatchewan River as its water source, the intake was still operating Sunday afternoon. Plans were being made to connect the city with the South Saskatchewan River using an above-ground pipeline, which would run approximately 27 km along Highway 3 to the Muskoday First Nation.