Oil Spill from Husky Pipeline Reaches Saskatchewan City

An oil spill by Husky Energy Inc into a major Canadian river reached the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on Monday, hours earlier than expected, as workers there raced to stretch a 30-kilometre (19-mile) hose to draw drinking water from another source.

 

The heavy oil and diluent leaked from Husky's Saskatchewan Gathering System pipeline on Thursday, flowing into the North Saskatchewan River, which supplies drinking water to several communities in the western Canadian province.

 

A sheen was visible on the river in Prince Albert on Monday morning, and the city of 35,000 people shut its water treatment plant intake, said city manager Jim Toye. It has two days' worth of stored water before it must find another source, he said in an interview.


(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)