Work was already underway to lay out a temporary pipeline stretching upwards of 30 kilometres to draw water from the South Saskatchewan River, should the water emergency continue for a much longer period.
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“Some businesses that use a lot of water, such as vehicle washes, laundromats – they will be shut down”, Toye said, adding that anyone violating the rules could face a $1,000 fine.
The province also said it is monitoring the situation closely.
On Tuesday, the city updated media on its water supply after a Husky Energy pipeline leaked oil into the North Saskatchewan River last week.
Husky has been working since last week to clean up the spill.
Ferris says the city is planning to treat water from storm water retention ponds and other reservoirs, which he says would last approximately seven days.
“The system we use measures volumes from one point in the line to another point so the date we’ve got is accurate in terms of loss of volumes”, Pate said.
Oil is seen on the North Saskatchewan river near Maidstone, Sask on Friday July 22, 2016.
The province of Saskatchewan has started building a new boom near the community of Maymont, about 50 km (31 miles) downstream from North Battleford, though it is not sure when the oil spill will reach it, Wes Kotyk, executive director of environment protection with the province of Saskatchewan, told reporters. That includes swimming, water-skiing or eating fish from the river.
A precautionary drinking water advisory was in effect for Melfort and about a dozen nearby communities.
The provincial government has been holding daily press teleconferences, initially with representation from the Ministries of Environment and Economy, but eventually including Health, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Husky.
In a statement released after the conference call, Husky, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, clarified the sequence of events leading up to the pipeline being shut. We accept full responsibility for the event and the cleanup, and we will make things right.
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“What they are hanging their hat on is in the agreement it says give written 24-hour notice, and they claim they didn’t give their residents notice because we didn’t give them written notice”, Dionne said. “We need further time just to assess the existence of any oil or globules of oil that may be suspended in the water column”.
