Husky Energy says salt water that has undergone treatment during oil production has entered the Englishman River.
The leak was detected Wednesday from a line that runs between a water handling facility and a disposal well west of Turtleford. The company says the release happened 500 meters from the River.
Senior Media and Issues Manager Mel Duvall says in the rural area Husky uses a cold heavy oil production method with sand to produce oil.
“You’re producing oil, but with it comes up some sand and water. It comes up and then we put it through a process where you separate the oil from the sand and the water. The sand goes to one place and the water is typically treated and then disposed of in a disposal well.”
In a statement, the company says “the release has been isolated, preventative measures are in place and removal is underway.”
Duvall says they haven’t dug up the pipe yet to determine how the leak happened. A sampling of water has occurred and no hydrocarbons were detected in the river.
“This pipeline has been damaged obviously, but we’re not seeing any impacts to the water. We’re gonna continue doing testing,” says Duvall.
The company will continue to monitor the spill while working closely with regulators.
The spill comes two years after a pipeline owned by the company spilt heavy crude oil in the North Saskatchewan River near Maidstone. Husky is facing several charges federally and provincially as a result.