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Water is flowing again in the city of Prince Albert, about a week and a half after the Husky Energy oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River.
Prince Albert has been relying on its storm water retention ponds and asking people to conserve water, however that is coming to an end – on Sunday night the city started getting water from the Little Red River, about five kilometres north of the city, and making it potable. The water is being sent into city distribution, according to Sam Ferris with the Water Security Agency.
As for the 30 kilometre water line from the South Saskatchewan River, it was being flushed Monday morning and was expected to start pumping water into Prince Albert’s water treatment facility later the same day.
Water is also being diverted to replenish Prince Albert’s storm water retention ponds.
Ferris said on Monday morning that it was unclear exactly when the rural areas around Prince Albert would be able to get water, though he said it should be possible to start hauling some by truck that afternoon.
It’s unclear how long the affected cities are going to have to leave water from the North Saskatchewan River alone, but a committee has been put together to put together options for keeping water flowing into the winter. One of the possible plans is a filter system to get petroleum out of the water from the North Saskatchewan River.
