STETTLER, Alta. — A cleanup is underway in central Alberta after diesel fuel from a truck crash spilled into a creek, prompting a downstream community to make a temporary switch in the source of its water.
The County of Stettler says in a release that the accident happened Thursday afternoon on Highway 21, east of Red Deer, when a semi with two trailers went out of control on a curve near a bridge and ended up in the small creek.
The driver wasn't hurt, but an unknown volume of fuel leaked into the waterway that empties into the Red Deer River.
Emergency crews removed the remaining fuel from the trailers and used booms and a berm to curtail the flow of water in the creek.
As a precaution, the water treatment plant in the town of Stettler has switched to storage pond water, which has about a 10-day supply.
Water from the Red Deer River is being assessed, but the county says it doesn't anticipate regular water treatment will be affected for a long period of time.
