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River water found to be within guidelines

Aug 3, 2016 | 11:10 AM

A preliminary evaluation of the water quality in the North Saskatchewan River has found the water to be within the guidelines for drinking water and agricultural purposes.

A summary of the early test results released Wednesday, Aug. 8 said only five samples taken from the river exceeded the Canadian drinking water guidelines for hydrocarbons and all of which were within 20 km of the original spill site. Since July 24, there have been no samples which exceeded the guidelines, including at the water intakes in North Battleford and Prince Albert.

More than 900 samples have been evaluated, out of more than 1,000 collected, by a technical team which includes specialists from the Ministry of Environment, Water Security Agency, Health Canada, Husky Energy, Matrix Solutions, and the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health.

The report also said oil has been found on the shoreline, in the water column, and in sediment, within roughly 20 km downstream of the spill. A risk assessment will follow, and the Water Security Agency has started sampling independently.