Husky oil spill: Prince Albert, Sask. partially lifts water restrictions

Thanks to a 30 kilometre-long emergency waterline, the City of Prince Albert has partially lifted water restrictions in the city.

Last month, a Husky Energy pipeline leaked roughly 200,000 litres of oil and diluting agents into the North Saskatchewan River.

Prince Albertand other communities that use the river for their drinking water were forced to pull their water treatment systems offline and find other sources. As a result, many communities began emergency water saving measures, such as banning lawn watering and shutting down high-water consumption businesses like laundromats.

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An emergency waterline has been pumping water to Prince Albert's water treatment plant from the South Saskatchewan River for the past 48 hours. That water, combined with water from the Little Red River and rainfall reservoirs, has meant the city has started lifting restrictions.

Lifted restrictions

• Car washes, laundromats and dry cleaners can resume operation.
• Lawn watering at businesses.
• Restaurants can start serving municipal drinking water to customers.

One of the affected businesses, 6th Avenue Car Wash, has been scrambling all morning to get back to normal operations. The business had to lay off 14 workers after water restrictions forced the business to close two weeks ago.

"We've had about ten vehicles come through in the last five minutes," said sales representative Cody Burns. "We made some calls to some businesses that are high-volume users, so we gave them a call to let them know they can use the car wash again."

Partially lifted restrictions

• Lawn and garden watering.
• Homeowners washing cars and trucks.
• Filling private swimming pools and hot tubs.

The city is asking homes with even numbered street addresses to water their lawns on even dates (August 4, 6, 8, 12, etc). Homes with odd numbers are asked to water their lawns on odd dates (August 5, 7, 9, 11, etc).

The city's water crane, used for rural users, is still closed for the time being. As well, the municipal golf course will continue to use pond water for irrigation.

Claims centre

Braemar Adjusters, the independent insurance adjuster handling all Husky Energy claims, will be hosting a claims clinic on Friday and Saturday in Prince Albert.

The centre will be set up from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST on both days onthe main floor of the Travelodgeat 3551 2nd Avenue W. Individuals or businesses needing to submit claims can make an appointment through the booking website. Drop-ins are also accepted.

To file a claim you must bring:

• Suitable evidence such as receipts or invoices.
• Banking details with the bank name, branch number, transit number, account number and SWIFT code.

The CBC's David Shield will be tweeting live from today's provincial government call on the Husky Energy pipeline leak.

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