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UPDATE: River water advisory lifted

Spill upstream from drinking water intake
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UPDATE: A water advisory for the Shuswap River has been lifted.

The tanker truck that crashed May 16 near 1435 Enderby Mabel Lake Rd., about six kilometres east of Ashton Creek, was removed from the site Thursday. Ministry of Environment and environmental consultants on scene informed Interior Health that no fuel has reached the river, and products (diesel and gasoline) that spilled have been captured and contained within the protective booms put in place following the accident.

Based on this assessment, Interior Health is confident that there is no longer a potential risk to water users downstream.

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Action is being taken to ensure a fuel spill doesn’t taint Enderby’s drinking water.

A tanker truck accident led to a fuel spill in Ashton Creek Tuesday at about 10:40 a.m. It’s unclear if the fuel has entered the river.

The truck crashed in the 1400 block of Enderby Mabel Lake Road, spilling 4,090 litres of gasoline and 12,500 litres of diesel into a flooded field adjacent to the river.

Interior Health is advising residents along the Shuswap River from about six kilometres east of Ashton Creek to the mouth of the river at Mara Lake to be cautious and check their water for any signs of diesel fuel.

“We are monitoring the situation,” said Tate Bengtson, the city’s chief administrative officer.

While the community generally receives water from the river and a well, it is only using the well right now because of possible contamination in the river.

“It’s a precautionary step,” said Bengtson.

This incident comes just a few days after a temporary water line was installed across the Bawtree Bridge to replace a line that broke in April. High turbidity has also created challenges using the river source.

Bengtson says the temporary pipe has helped minimize the impact of the fuel spill.

“If this was a week and a half ago, we would have turned off the intake and hoped the spill passed before the reservoirs drained.”

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