Image Credit: iStockphoto.com
November 24, 2015 - 8:00 PM
KAMLOOPS - A diesel spill in the North Thompson River near a North Shore neighbourhood was contained and cleaned up, but city staff are being asked to look at other areas of the city where potentially harmful product could be entering sewer drains.
“It seems like the product got spilled at the North Shore Bus Exchange and went into the sewer catchment. Because of the snow, it rose and drained out of the water system. (Fire rescue) say it was diesel,” Capt. Steve Kilmartin with Kamloops Fire Rescue says.
Staff at the city were notified so they could determine the source and look for areas around Kamloops that may have caught similar product.
The diesel fuel came from a pipe near the end of Sydney Avenue on Schubert Drive. Kilmartin says the product could have been leaking into the North Thompson River for the last couple of days. The spill was discovered around 4:15 p.m. yesterday, Nov. 24.
Officials from the city’s public works department were not immediately available for comment.
Kilmartin says at its largest size, the spill was around 50 feet long and between two to three feet wide. He says the crew set up a containment barrier and soaked up as much of the product as possible.
Crews managed to clean the area up by about 6 p.m. and Ministry of Environment officials were called to the scene to collected samples for testing. Kilmartin says the investigation has now been turned over to the ministry.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015