Second pipeline ready, water restrictions to be lifted in P.A.

After more than a week, Prince Albert will soon be free of any water restrictions.

Jeff Da Silva, manager of engineering services, said as of Tuesday afternoon the city has two alternate water supply sources to compensate for the North Saskatchewan River, which was tainted by an oil spill near Maidstone on July 21.

Both the 30-kilometre South Saskatchewan River pipeline and the 5.5-kilometre Little Red River pipeline are feeding into the water treatment plant, according to Da Silva.

With a stable water supply, city manager Jim Toye said businesses affected by water restrictions will soon be able to re-open.

“We sympathize with our local business owners and the sacrifices they have made. We’re trying to have our local businesses back to business as usual as quickly as we can,” Toye said.

Timelines regarding businesses and residents in P.A. and on the rural water utility will be announced in the coming days, Toye said.

“We thank everyone for their patience in this trying time,” he said. “Without everyone’s hard work and assistance, this situation could have escalated into something far worse and far more lengthy.”

With the water reservoirs nearly full, the city is now turning towards the future.

“We’re estimating it’s going to be 90 days until its gets really cold in Saskatchewan,” Toye said. “So we’ve got about 90 days to try to figure out if we’re unable to take water from the North Saskatchewan River.”

Toye said they’ll try to use their imaginations and discover an innovative solution to provide water to residents in the long run.