Investigation after truck spills sewage along Yellowknife street

An investigation has begun after a tanker truck reportedly leaked nearly 2,000 litres of sewage along a Yellowknife road on Monday.

A Kavanaugh Waste Removal truck was pictured in motion between Taylor Road and Kam Lake Road with wastewater pouring onto the street from a valve at the rear.

The NWT government’s spill reporting website states a spill at this location on Monday involved an estimated 1892.71 litres of sewage.

Kavanaugh is a Det’on Cho company.

In a statement to Cabin Radio on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Det’on Cho Group of Companies confirmed a sewage spill had taken place and has since been contained.

“Our teams responded immediately upon discovery of this issue to manage the situation,” the spokesperson stated.

“Environmental and public safety remain our top priorities. As part of our response, we initiated cleanup and remediation procedures in accordance with City of Yellowknife guidance. An investigation into how the spill occurred is under way.

“We will use the findings to strengthen our operational processes and ensure we are taking every step possible to reduce the risk of future incidents.”

The City of Yellowknife, which contracts Kavanaugh to operate sewage trucks on the municipality’s behalf, said it was aware of the situation.

“Kavanaugh also serves private clients and the sewage involved could have originated from any of them,” a city spokesperson stated.

“We were advised that Kavanaugh responded immediately and followed its standard procedures.”