The City of Port Hope, Ontario said Monday it expects to have one of the two pumps, out of five, that failed at the municipal water treatment plant back in operation at the end of this week. Uranium firm Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO), which operates a uranium hexafluoride conversion plant in Port Hope, has stopped consuming water from the municipal supply.
The City of Port Hope, Ontario said Monday it expects to have one of the two pumps that failed at the municipal water treatment plant back in operation at the end of this week.
Two of the five pumps at the plant failed last Saturday, and the city declared an emergency. Port Hope is on the shore of Lake Ontario about 100 kilometres east of downtown Toronto.
“This is an extraordinary circumstance and declaring an emergency allows Municipal Staff to invoke special authorities and access Mutual Aid and other resources as required,” the city stated in a press release.
It expects to get the second failed pump online by the end of next week, or November 5.
“We have initiated an investigation into the pump failure and will release full details when that analysis is complete,” the city stated.
Saskatoon uranium firm Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO), which operates a uranium hexafluoride conversion plant in Port Hope, has stopped consuming water from the municipal supply, the city stated. Cameco produces fuel for CANDU nuclear reactors in Port Hope.
The city has also asked a local car wash and laundromats to prohibit the use of water and for residents to refrain from using their laundry machines. Businesses have been asked to reduce water consumption and residents were asked to shower and bathe every other day at the most.
“We are not in a crisis situation,” the city stated. “There is no issue with the quality of Port Hope’s water. It is water distribution that is compromised.”
The fire department is not compromised, the city stated, because of its access to tankers, pumpers, pump access to raw water and mutual aid agreements with neighbouring communities.
DCN DIGITAL MEDIA
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