The brief water pressure issue that hit St. Albert early Monday afternoon was caused by a “pressure relief valve” at the Oakmont Pumping Station and Water Reservoir that became stuck open, the city's senior manager of utilities told the Gazette.
READ MORE: Pump issue resolved, water pressure returning to normal St. Albert
“This created a continuous backflow of system water into the Oakmont Reservoir,” said Regan Lefebvre. “Pressure fluctuations were experienced throughout the water system as it became difficult for the automated controls at the three reservoirs (Oakmont, Sturgeon and Lacombe) to properly balance system pressures and flows between them.”
Lefebvre said alarms went off about the stuck valve at about 12:15 p.m., and utilities workers responded immediately.
“Once the Oakmont Reservoir valve was identified as the source of the problem, it was able to be isolated by closing a second valve,” Lefebvre explained. “System water pressure was restored by 1:15 p.m.”
The stuck valve was not a sign of a major system failure, Lefebvre explained, as periods of high demand for water, like during the extreme heat period last week, put St. Albert's water system under major pressure, which in turn can lead to isolated mechanical failures.
“The Utilities branch is still assessing system components to identify other possible issues,” he said.
“As of 3:30 p.m. on July 15, no additional issues have been found.”
The City of St. Albert said on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter, earlier this afternoon that if residents notice water discoloration or air bubbles when they turn their taps on they should leave the tap running until both or either issue dissipates.
