The junction of Highways 32 and 21 near Leader is shut down again. It had reopened around 8:00 AM Thursday morning but RCMP shut it down around noon to aid SaskEnergy’s efforts to track down a natural gas leak.
SaskEnergy is concentrating their focus on that area and have not yet pinpointed an exact location for the leak but are continuing to commence additional sweeps in the town of Leader to ensure all possibilities have been taken into consideration.
SaskEnergy officials say their technicians were called after an employee with the Town of Leader reported an odour in the vicinity of the community shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday. SaskEnergy says it immediately began working with the local Fire Department and the RCMP to determine where the odour was coming from.
Sask Energy technicians have above ground infrastructure near the junction and officials explain that natural gas is lighter than air and dissipates into the atmosphere. The odourant which is added is heavier and lingers but last night got blown around by the wind so it is presenting a challenge in terms of finding a location for the leak. There is no public safety concern at this time and crews will remain on site until the location is verified and repairs are complete. Natural gas service remains uninterrupted; everyone’s furnace’s are still running.
{Files from CJWW}