By Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

Company says chlorine spill into Nordegg River was handled adequately

Sep 26, 2018 | 6:12 PM

The head of the company responsible for leaking chlorinated water into the Nordegg River feels the situation is being blown out of proportion.

On Sept. 10, a holding tank belonging to Westbrick Energy Ltd. failed at a site near Lodgepole, resulting in about 4,000 cubic metres of chlorinated water spilling into the Nordegg River.

Subsequently, Alberta Environment and Parks issued a fishing ban for the Nordegg River, its tributaries and the Brazeau River downstream of Brazeau Reservoir.

In a written statement to rdnewsNOW, Westbrick President and CEO Ken McCagherty says the spill was the result of a C-ring failure and that about 6,000 cubic metres of chlorinated water spilled initially, with about 4,000 making its way into the river.

“Westbrick continues to work with all government authorities to understand the nature of the water spill,” says McCagherty.

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He says the water was drawn from the Nordegg river and that Westbrick added chlorine on September 8 to kill any bugs in the water.

“The active ingredient in the bleaching of water is Free Chlorine which is very unstable and quickly degrades over time from UV sunlight, changes to Ph, agitation, interactions and also very quickly dilutes and disperses,” McCagherty explains.

McCagherty says Free Chlorine testing carried out following the spill showed the chlorine from the C-Ring had dissipated quickly.

He notes that no cleanup was required but that all parties want to know what the estimated concentration of Chlorine was at the time of the spill, how quickly it was dissipated over what area of the river, and if it would have had any effect on fish populations. 

“An extensive search of the downstream right after the spill saw no evidence of a fish kill.  Experts were hired immediately and studies are underway,” McCagherty mentions.

“I have no idea why (Alberta) Parks and Environment would have posted the advisory to shut down the river last Friday given their knowledge and involvement.  Westbrick was not notified that they would make the release or could we find the person that authorized it.”

McCagherty feels coverage of the incident characterized it poorly and, in his opinion, did not serve the public well.

“We are a very open company and have worked in the Rocky Mountain House area for years,” he points out. “Westbrick is proud of our people and operations and strive to do a top notch job.”

The fishing ban issued following the spill remains in effect at this time.