City of Prince Rupert brings end to State of Local Emergency

The City of Prince Rupert has announced the end of the
Local State of Emergency for the community

The City of Prince Rupert has suspended the State of Local Emergency, bringing an end to the six day period of concern over the state of the city's water infrastructure., which had suffered multiple breaks during the recent Arctic outflow period.

Today's statement, the final one of the Local State of Emergency  paid tribute to those who worked through the period to keep the water systems functioning, as well as to salute MLA Jennifer Rice for her efforts with both her Provincial government and that of the Federal government in making Prince Rupert's situation known.

The North Coast MLA released a letter to a list of Federal and Provincial officials on Thursday evening, noting of the situation facing residents of the community and the local government. 

The City Statement from Saturday included the following key passage:

The Local State of Emergency has now expired, and the City will not renew at this time thanks to the continuous efforts of crews to get existing breaks under control. 

Although Emergency Operations Centre staff remain on standby in case conditions change, the City hopes to provide crews some reprieve over the next few days to spend time with their friends and families. 

 “We want to extend our extreme gratitude to the staff and contractors who have been working day in and day out to keep water flowing in Prince Rupert. 

We also want to thank the community for its patience while we manage this situation, and our local MLA Jennifer Rice for her support in advocating for Prince Rupert to her colleagues in the Provincial and Federal governments. 

Prince Rupert has a challenging situation on its hands because of the age and condition of our infrastructure, and we are working as hard as possible to obtain some help towards sustainable solutions.” -- Mayor Herb Pond

City Emergency and Operations personnel will continue to monitor potential impacts from thawing and ground shifting as temperatures continue to warm up, so that the City can call on additional resources again if needed.

The remainder of the city's final statement under the Local Emergency provided some guidance on home maintenance themes in cold weather for residents.

You can review the full statement here.

The Local State of Emergency was introduced by City Council one week ago this afternoon,  it provided the City with the opportunity to hire additional contractors to assist on the water issues as well as to approach the Provincial Government for assistance.

The State of Local Emergency declared on December 17th
has now been suspended by the City of Prince Rupert

The City has not as of yet listed how much assistance, or additional resources was provided by the province, or what had been requested during the six and half day period of the situation.

You can review the full week of announcements and other notes related to the Local State of Emergency from our archive page here.