Alberta Environment has an investigation underway on the construction incident that led to the break in the major wastewater line on Oct. 21 and sent Cochrane into a state of emergency.

"This is an open investigation," says Jason Penner communications advisor for Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA), in a government statement today. "Under the Environmental Protection and Enforcement Act, there are a number of enforcement tools available to address potential contraventions of the act. As this investigation is open and underway, we cannot comment further."

Penner says the Alberta government's focus was on ensuring the safety of drinking water in Cochrane, Calgary, and other communities downstream.

"The goal was to help the water system operators understand the potential risks to drinking water quality and ensure risk reduction strategies were put in place, such as using off-stream raw water storage reservoirs or ensuring all treatment processes were using an effective multi-barrier approach."

He says test data of the raw water sampling provided to EPA by the City of Calgary from its Bearspaw drinking water treatment plant intake did not identify increased water quality risks as a result of the spill.

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