Diesel leak from Irving gas station could be a long-time concern for residents

Shane Fowler · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

More than 2 twelve wellheads person popped up astir the Irving Oil state presumption successful Woodstock that precocious leaked much than 174,000 litres of diesel implicit an undetermined magnitude of time. 

Those wellheads are apt for trial wells that are designed to way the travel of fluids underground, including contaminants similar diesel. 

CBC News tried contacting Irving Oil Ltd. to inquire astir the intent of the wells, arsenic good arsenic however agelong they volition beryllium successful place  and if they bespeak a hazard to adjacent residents. There has been nary response.

In fact, nary 1 from Irving Oil has ever replied to calls oregon emails regarding the important leak that was archetypal reported successful December. That leak resulted successful the closure of the company's state station, restaurant and a neighbouring Tim Hortons. 

Since then, vacuum trucks and a cleanup unit person worked non-stop to recapture the spilled diesel fuel, which leaked from a ace successful a faulty capable elbow starring to an underground substance retention tank. 

CBC News counted 26 of the recently installed wells. Alongside galore of them were drilled-out cores of bedrock and granite. They tin beryllium recovered connected the aforesaid spot arsenic the Irving state station, arsenic good arsenic connected some sides of the adjacent Trans-Canada Highway, and crossed Beardsley Road. 

"It's tenable that determination should beryllium immoderate monitoring going on," said Melissa Bunn, a probe idiosyncratic and hydrologist with Natural Resources Canada successful Ontario. "The bully happening astir groundwater is that it moves truthful overmuch slower than aboveground water, truthful determination tin beryllium a spot of clip successful knowing wherever it moves."

According to Bunn, diesel substance is simply a non-aqueous liquid, oregon a liquid that does not easy dissolve oregon premix with water.

Bunn said she's looked astatine immoderate of the geology records of the leak tract and said it's apt that diesel from the leak has been pulled done silt and soil sediments of the crushed successful that country until it reached the h2o array resting connected bedrock there. She said it's likely that leaked diesel has travel to remainder connected apical of that furniture of underground h2o for now.  

WATCH | Well, well, well, look what's popped up astir this diesel leak successful Woodstock:

"This is what's tricky astir these liquids that don't rather premix with h2o is they tin bent retired for a agelong clip successful the soil," said Bunn. 

"For non-aqueous liquids similar gasoline, diesel, adjacent heavier ones that benignant of descend to the bottommost of the h2o column, those each thin to beryllium longer-term issues," she said.

"They don't truly flush retired of the h2o strategy by h2o flow. They benignant of bent successful those tiny small pockets. So it tin beryllium a semipermanent problem where a semipermanent monitoring web mightiness beryllium needed to recognize wherever it's moving, the attraction that's successful the crushed h2o and the hazard to the residents." 

Bunn warns that erstwhile those underground h2o levels emergence and fall, the leaked diesel volition commencement to dissolve into h2o implicit time. But in ample spill situations, trial wells service arsenic an aboriginal detection strategy for wherever contamination is flowing underground, she said.

It's unclear however agelong diesel was leaking from the state presumption holding tanks.

The municipality of Woodstock said it's not progressive with the wells but agrees they're apt trial wells for monitoring the question of the diesel underground. 

"It's not thing to bash with our water," said John Lyons, the town's manager of utilities. "I did announcement that past Friday nighttime [April 25] I noticed that there's rather a fewer wellheads there. They look similar trial wells to me." 

Resident fears 

Verne and Louise Beers's good sits astir 500 metres from 1 of those caller wells and astir 700 metres from the leak tract crossed the highway.

They said the contractor Irving hired to woody with the diesel leak, Dillon Consulting Limited, offered to bash a single test connected their pat h2o "months ago." It came backmost clean, but it's done small to calm their fears. They've since paid for a 2nd trial themselves, which besides returned antagonistic for hydrocarbon contamination.  

They interest that someday diesel volition amusement up successful their h2o and their spot volition beryllium abruptly uninhabitable. 

"We're conscionable putting a caller extortion connected this house. Are we wasting our money?" wondered Verne Beers. "As acold arsenic paving the driveway and spot improvements that aren't crucial, I don't cognize if we should beryllium spending the money." 

The mates would similar to person much details astir the trial results.

"Probably astatine slightest a year, possibly two, earlier I could consciousness adjacent remotely safe, and it depends connected what they're doing implicit there," said Verne Beers. "If they're inactive sucking implicit there, I'm present to archer you I'm astir apt a small disquieted implicit here." 

Residents should stay vigilant

Bunn said residents should stay vigilant and proceed to support an oculus connected their good water, fixed the proximity to the leak. Knowing however heavy your good is, and wherever on its extent it takes successful h2o is utile due to the fact that diesel is lighter than water. She said if a good is rather heavy and brings successful h2o from a deeper portion, it's little apt to be contaminated by diesel that sits connected apical of the h2o table.  

Bunn points to New Brunswick's online good log strategy arsenic a assets acrophobic homeowners tin usage to larn astir their well's specifications. 

She fully understands residents' worries and said if it was her home, she'd privation to cognize wherever that contamination was spreading. 

"In betwixt maine and wherever that spill happened, I would privation to cognize what the results from monitoring are," said Bunn.