Windsor's hydro and water utility is assuring residents that drinking water is safe after a barge transporting diesel fuel ran aground in the Detroit River.
ENWIN Utilities confirmed on Friday that the water it continues to deliver is perfectly safe, after the tanker Margaret, which was carrying almost four million gallons of diesel fuel, became grounded near Peche Island in the overnight hours on Monday. The barge has since been freed.
The utility kept a close eye on the efforts made by the U.S. Coast Guard to dislodge the barge, and enacted protocols in conjunction with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), the City of Windsor's Emergency Operations Centre, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
"We must monitor very closely any event that has the potential to impact our water," said Garry Rossi, ENWIN's vice-president of water operations. "Our first response measures ensure we do everything possible to maintain water quality and supply."
As a contingency, ENWIN also checked the city's water towers and reservoirs to ensure they were completely loaded. Staff at the Weeks Water Treatment Plant in Ford City maintained a heightened state of alert as well.
Water safety protocols were also in place while the barge was being freed. Those were lifted Friday after the USCG confirmed the tanker was freed without incident.