Leduc County declares state of emergency

Leduc County declared a local state of emergency late Sunday night after a major water main break cut off water service to residents in Nisku and its surrounding areas.

Residents in the area will likely have reduced water pressure — or no water service at all — until crews find and repair the break, which happened around 10 p.m. Saturday.

The water quality may also have been compromised because of the break, said Leduc County spokeswoman Brandy Kelly. As a precaution, residents in the area are being advised to boil water before consuming it for any reason — including brushing of teeth, washing foods or making ice cubes.

“Water should be boiled for at least three minutes before being consumed,” she said.

The County has brought in multiple trucks to provide residents with drinking water until the state of emergency is lifted. A full list of water centres is available on the Leduc County website. Kelly said people should bring their own water jugs.

Crews are still attempting to locate the break and are excavating a suspected site Monday.

“We have not confirmed where it is yet, but we have isolated a suspected area,” Kelly said. “Another challenge to finding this break is there is no pooling water we can find. All of our ditches are already full of ice and water, and it’s impossible to tell if it’s from snow or the break.”

The affected area runs from Township Road 512, east to the town of Beaumont (but not including the town of Beaumont), south to Airport Road and west to the QEII Highway.

Kelly said the local state of emergency was declared to give the county the power to take any necessary actions to address the problem.

“We just felt it would give us the ability to call on more resources if we need them,” she said.

It’s not yet clear when residents will have their water service restored, but Kelly said they should expect to go without it Monday. She emphasized that even when service is restored, the boil water advisory will remain in place as a precaution.