Montreal has "No plan B" if major oil spill were to happen,
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:49 pmMontreal has "No plan B" if major oil spill were to happen, experts say
[ http://montrealgazette.com/news/montrea ... xperts-say ]
JESSE FEITH, MONTREAL GAZETTE Published on: August 4, 2016 | Last Updated: August 4, 2016 7:59 PM EDT
When up to 250,000 litres of oil spilled out of the Husky Energy pipeline and into the North Saskatchewan River two weeks ago, it forced the city of Prince Albert to declare a state of emergency.
The city had to shut down the intake at its water treatment plant and enforce water conservation measures. Local businesses, from concrete plants to carwashes and laundromats, were shut down.
The city had a two-day supply of water in its reservoirs and sought permission to tap into its storm retention pond for more — an unprecedented move that allowed it an extra three days’ worth of water.
Work started quickly to build a temporary, 30-kilometre waterline to draw water from the South Saskatchewan River, and another short waterline was built to pull from the much smaller Little Red River. Government agencies delivered water to 1,200 residents living in neighbouring rural areas.
“We’re very lucky to have these alternative sources,” Prince Albert city manager Jim Toye told the Montreal Gazette on Thursday. “Without them, we would be out of water. Our citizens would be out of water.”
In Montreal, experts say, there would be no such luck: if a similar spill were to occur, the city has no access to alternative water sources the likes of what Prince Albert is relying on, and a much shorter timeframe of banked water as well.
“It’s scary even thinking about it,” said Guy Coderre, who’s taught at Quebec’s Centre national de formation en traitement de l’eau for the last 20 years.
In May, the centre released a study detailing the effects of a pipeline break and warning that Montreal is ill-equipped to handle any sort of major spill that would compromise its water supply.
“There is no plan B,” Coderre said of how the city could react.
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“Until fairly recently in our history we could claim we didn’t know (about pipeline leaks). But we know how frequently these things happen now,” he said. “It’s not a question of if there’s going to be a pipeline leak. It’s a question of where and how much.”
[ http://montrealgazette.com/news/montrea ... xperts-say ]
JESSE FEITH, MONTREAL GAZETTE Published on: August 4, 2016 | Last Updated: August 4, 2016 7:59 PM EDT
When up to 250,000 litres of oil spilled out of the Husky Energy pipeline and into the North Saskatchewan River two weeks ago, it forced the city of Prince Albert to declare a state of emergency.
The city had to shut down the intake at its water treatment plant and enforce water conservation measures. Local businesses, from concrete plants to carwashes and laundromats, were shut down.
The city had a two-day supply of water in its reservoirs and sought permission to tap into its storm retention pond for more — an unprecedented move that allowed it an extra three days’ worth of water.
Work started quickly to build a temporary, 30-kilometre waterline to draw water from the South Saskatchewan River, and another short waterline was built to pull from the much smaller Little Red River. Government agencies delivered water to 1,200 residents living in neighbouring rural areas.
“We’re very lucky to have these alternative sources,” Prince Albert city manager Jim Toye told the Montreal Gazette on Thursday. “Without them, we would be out of water. Our citizens would be out of water.”
In Montreal, experts say, there would be no such luck: if a similar spill were to occur, the city has no access to alternative water sources the likes of what Prince Albert is relying on, and a much shorter timeframe of banked water as well.
“It’s scary even thinking about it,” said Guy Coderre, who’s taught at Quebec’s Centre national de formation en traitement de l’eau for the last 20 years.
In May, the centre released a study detailing the effects of a pipeline break and warning that Montreal is ill-equipped to handle any sort of major spill that would compromise its water supply.
“There is no plan B,” Coderre said of how the city could react.
- - - SNIP - - -
“Until fairly recently in our history we could claim we didn’t know (about pipeline leaks). But we know how frequently these things happen now,” he said. “It’s not a question of if there’s going to be a pipeline leak. It’s a question of where and how much.”