ATHABASCA – A break in the line that feeds water to the reservoirs that supply most of the town’s water to residents resulted in a conservation advisory for residents last Wednesday and Thursday.
The town asked residents to start conserving water late in the afternoon April 14, but announced the line had been repaired and the advisory to cut down on water use was lifted the morning of April 16. The bulk water station was also reopened.
The fractured line was located halfway up the hill on 50th Ave., east of Tridon Communications and Select Rentals. Town crews found it wasn’t a typical water line break though.
“It was serious because it is the main water line that feeds water to our reservoirs that supply the majority of the town with water services,” said Town of Athabasca CAO Rachel Ramey Friday morning, adding that once the location of the leak was found, crews found a fusion weld failure on the line was responsible for the disruption.
“Because it was our main line that had to be shut down, we put out the advisory for residents and business owners to conserve as much as possible so that our water levels in our reservoirs did not deplete too quickly as that would have required further action to be taken,” said Ramey.
The advisory was lifted as soon as the line was repaired, and Ramey thanked residents for their cooperation.
“I would like to thank everyone for their understanding while the repairs were taking place. I understand that things like this can be an inconvenience but it is important that we allow our staff and contractors the time to work in the safest manner possible while they undertake these repairs.”
