Work was conducted throughout the weekend by the City of Saskatoon to establish a temporary water supply for a Costco location after hydrocarbons were detected in its water line.
A “do not use” notice was issued by the Water Security Agency (WSA) on May 11 after city staff detected hydrocarbons in the water line that supplies the business in the Rosewood neighbourhood.
The temporary water line was in place as of 11 p.m. CT on May 13.
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As per WSA protocol, Costco will remain on a drinking water advisory for the next 36 to 48 hours until tests on the temporary line come back clean.
“This is a strict precaution, there is also no reason to believe there is any health risk or that any of the adjacent residential homes in Rosewood are impacted,” Angela Gardiner, the acting general manager of transportation and utilities for the city, said in a press release.
In January, a similar notice was issued after hydrocarbons were detected in some fire hydrants within another developing area of the city. Although the residential water supply continued to test clean, about 10 Aspen Ridge homes have been on temporary water lines since late winter.
“Just like everyone else affected, we want some definitive answers about what’s going on,” Gardiner said in a press release.
“There could be something about the materials and how they were made, or about how they were installed or there may be some other way any hydrocarbons got there.”
Gardiner said the current focus is to confirm the exact type of hydrocarbon, then they will know what direction to take. She said this is done by sending tests to a lab in Ontario, which takes about three-to-four weeks for results.
Part of the investigation involves an external consultant to develop the permanent remediation plan.
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