Water from a temporary pipeline from Battleford to North Battleford, Sask., could be supplying the city on Tuesday.
Officials said flushing and chlorination of the line is complete and samples were taken on Friday for testing.
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One test came back positive for coliform, which is being called “unusual and could have been caused by a piece of dust that flew into the jar while the sample was taken,” a press release from the city stated.
As a result of the positive test, the line was flushed on Sunday and another sample taking for testing.
If the results come back negative, water will begin flowing between the two communities on Tuesday.
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However, North Battleford officials caution that this source will only provide one-third of the water supply that was lost after water intakes were closed on the North Saskatchewan River following the Husky oil spill near Maidstone, Sask., that was detected on July 21.
They said water being drawn from Battleford will be primarily be to “augment the water capacity that is needed to suppress potential fires” and that current restrictions for outside watering will remain in place until further notice.
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Last week, North Battleford city council approved other measures for supplying the city with water, including drilling four new wells and adding new filtration systems to filter for hydrocarbons and other contaminants.