The City of Prince Albert is anticipating another shut down of the water treatment plant. This time it is a result of unprecedented turbidity levels in the North Saskatchewan River.
Turbidity refers to how dirty the water is. Currently in Prince Albert, the level is at 30 NTU. City officials expect that number to jump by thousands overnight.
The combination of recent rain storms and snow melt has increased the turbidity level to 5000 NTU at North Battleford. It has forced them to shut down one of their two water treatment plants. That dirty water is expected to reach Prince Albert by Friday afternoon.
Robert Cotterill, the city manager, says a new system at Prince Albert's water treatment plant may not be equipped to handle what is coming.
"The Acti-flow system is state of the art technology. Having said that, we do not have enough experience to know for sure if the plant can handle this turbidity. The results of the water tests and advice from consultants will help to determine whether the City will choose to shut down the plant," says Cotterill.
If the water treatment plant has to shut down, it will happen as quickly as Friday and will last as long as the turbidity levels remain high. In the meantime, residents are being asked to start conserving water just in case. The City of Prince Albert is also warning communities like Melfort to start preparing for the dirty water to arrive.
