Less than two months after a spill at an oil pipeline dumped 900,000 litres of contaminated water–so called “produced water”–in northwestern Alberta, there’s been another spill in the oil-rich province. The latest spill, reported at 2 p.m on Christmas Day by a local landowner, occurred near Drayton Valley, a community about 130 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, the province’s capital city. Drayton Valley was the site of a spill–the result of a ruptured pipeline–that dumped 40,000 litres of crude oil into a local creek in August, 2019.
Husky pipeline spills 900,000 litres of produced water in northwestern Alberta
Husky Energy says 900,000 litres of produced water spilled from one of its pipelines in northwestern Alberta. Produced water is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction and sometimes contains residual petroleum and chemicals. Spokesperson Dawn Delaney says the spill is contained and the company is continuing to clean it up with pumps and vacuum trucks. She said there has been no observed harm to wildlife and fencing has been put up to keep animals away.