Cochrane’s water reservoir critically low post-line break, state of local emergency declared | Globalnews.ca

The Town of Cochrane, Alta., has declared a state of local emergency as recent breaks to water and sewage lines have drastically reduced the level in the town’s water reservoir.

“As a result of the water and wastewater incident on Saturday, Oct. 21 and the uncontrolled impacts to the Town of Cochrane’s water reservoir supply, our water reservoirs are at critical levels,” Shawn Polley, the town’s ECC director, said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“If water consumption continues at the current levels, we anticipate that some communities may soon be without water.”

Under the state of local emergency, residents may not:

Shower or bathe;
Wash dishes; or
Run washing machines.

As of late Tuesday morning, the situation was considered so dire that the town feared there wouldn’t be enough water available for emergency fire suppression.

An emergency alert was issued Saturday after one of the town’s wastewater pipelines ruptured when it was struck by a drill during line upgrading efforts on Griffin Road.

Town officials put Level 3 water restrictions in place on Sunday, with residents and local businesses being asked to reduce water consumption.

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