Athabasca River levels return to normal
The water level on the Athabasca River returned to normal last week thanks to a period of wet weather.
According to real-time data from the federal government, the river rose by about 45 cm over seven days, peaking at 2.3 metres on July 15.
鈥淎s of last week, the Athabasca River was well below the normal range for the time of year,鈥� said Jason Penner, a public affairs officer with Alberta Environment and Parks.
鈥淭he recent rain and increase in river levels is good news, as it brought the river back to normal levels without posing a flood risk.鈥�
To date Jasper has received 46 mm of rain for the month of July, according to Dan Kulak, a meteorologist for Environment Canada.
On average, he said the park receives about 88.9 mm of rain in July.
The wettest day of the month so far was July 13 when the park received 15.8 mm of rain in one day.
Oil spill on the Athabasca Glacier
Brewster has launched an investigation after a mechanical issue with one of its ice explorers caused it to leak an indeterminate amount of oil on the Athabasca Glacier, July 18.
The spill occurred while an ice explorer was descending the access road, a densely soil-packed part of the route.
鈥淭he spill was technically on the glacier, but it鈥檚 not on the ice itself,鈥� said Brewster鈥檚 vice-president of marketing Mark Hendrikse.
According to Hendrikse, a team was on site within minutes, removing the contaminated area and the tours proceeded after a 40-minute delay.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still determining the exact quantity of the fluid that was discharged from the bus,鈥� Hendrikse said. 鈥淚 can tell you we used a full excavator and bulldozer to remove four inches of soil off the road.鈥�
As standard practice, Hendrikse said the company will have an environmental contractor review the contaminated soil. The soil will then be appropriately disposed of.
Until the cause of the leak can be determined, that specific ice explorer will not be used.
鈥淎 mechanical team is still investigating. These things do happen from time to time, but we鈥檙e trained to deal with them quickly and effectively.鈥� Hendrikse said.
Muni celebrates 15th anniversary
The Municipality of Jasper celebrated its 15th anniversary, July 19, holding its first municipal council meeting in the new Jasper Library and Cultural Centre.
More than a dozen people attended the meeting, including several former councilors and administrators.
Exactly 15 years to the day residents voted in favour to establish a local government, setting in motion the next steps required to achieve self-government.
鈥淭he consultant that we had at the time said that anything over 65 per cent was a landslide and we achieved over 74 per cent of the popular vote,鈥� said Mayor Richard Ireland.
Municipal council meetings will now be held at 500 Robson St. on the first and third Tuesday of the month starting at 1:30 p.m.
During the meeting council also unanimously approved the official name of the new building: Jasper Library and Cultural Centre.
