POWER OUTAGE AT WATER PLANT
Shut down almost 24 hours
The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant shut down for nearly 24 hours due to a power outage, highlighting its need for a backup electricity source.
A downed power pole caused the plant to shut down 2 p.m. Tuesday. Power was restored by the following afternoon.
The outage led to precautionary drinking water advisories for Disley, people on the Sask Water Buffalo Pound north and west pipelines, Marquis rural and Parkview water users, and the Dufferin Water Association. These areas remain under an advisory.
The plant’s two urban users, Regina and Moose Jaw, were advisory-free, but the former did have to use water from its reservoirs and wells. That means residents might notice some cloudiness in the water, but the city assures residents it is safe.
The City of Regina waited until Wednesday to alert media to the power outage. Director of water works Pat Wilson said that was because the city had ample water supply and there was no need for customers to change their behaviour. Plus, the repair was under way.
“We always want people to know that our No. 1 priority is that the water is safe and we will always tell people what the situation is with the water,” she said.
This is the third time the plant has lost power this year.
The plant doesn’t have redundancy or backup generators, something the owners, the City of Regina and City of Moose Jaw, are currently working on.
Wilson said a project is currently underway to improve the plant’s backup power supply. The cities are also looking into generators as a short-term solution.
“This situation just reinforces that that work is what we need to be doing,” said Wilson.