City of Saskatoon continues to keep drinking water safe

Saskatoon Water is aware of a fuel spill in the South Saskatchewan River far upstream near Leader, Saskatchewan. Saskatoon’s water supply is safe and is expected to remain safe.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and Water Security Agency have been managing the spill response and advised the City of Saskatoon when the spill occurred.

Diesel is a volatile substance and lighter than water and it is expected to dissipate long before any of the spilled fuel could reach Saskatoon. Even if any spilled fuel were to reach Saskatoon after lake Diefenbaker, the concentration would be far below any level of concern for public consumption. If that were to happen, an expected concentration would be one ten-millionth of a milligram per litre after Lake Diefenbaker – or one part per 10 million litres.

Further ensuring water safety, the City of Saskatoon Raw Water Intake does not gather water from the surface; it uses a mid-stream intake which helps avoid intake of floating substances such as diesel fuel.