Communities shut water intake from B.C. lake after fuel spill reaches 80,000 litres

KAMLOOPS – A local official says small communities on Kamloops Lake in British Columbia have been shutting down their intakes from the waterway after it was revealed that more than 80,000 litres of aviation fuel spilled on its shores in a train derailment last weekend.

Rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s estimate of the spill size was increased more than six-fold late Wednesday, according to the province, prompting a request for water-quality results from Michael Grenier, director for Area J of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

Grenier says the spill is “substantially larger” than what was “originally anticipated,” creating a concern for communities that draw water from the lake and downstream.

He says he’s anxious to see water test results that the district was “insisting on” on Wednesday.

B.C.’s Environment Ministry says results from samples collected on Sunday and Monday have been “received and reviewed” by the Interior Health authority.

CPKC said the derailment occurred on Saturday night, about 20 kilometres west of Kamloops, and it involved a locomotive and 17 rail cars, two of which were carrying aviation fuel. 

The ministry said Tuesday that CPKC estimated that about 12,700 litres of aviation fuel had been released into the environment, but late Wednesday said a further 68,000 litres was estimated by the rail operator to have escaped a second carriage.

It said three empty rail cars containing residual gasoline remain at the derailment site, with one on the slope leading to the lake, and the other two in the water. 

Grenier said he expects the test results to come back negative for contamination, but some measures have been taken out of “abundance of caution.”

He said that across the lake, the community of Frederick has been advised by Interior Health not to draw water from the lake. Instead, the railway company has been providing bottled water, said Grenier. 

He said the lakeside community of Tobiano, seven kilometres from the derailment site, had taken the precaution of shutting off its water intake. 

“They have a reservoir that can last them several days, and so that they have that capability,” he said, adding that the test results would be known “long before they run out of water.”

Grenier, who visited the derailment site, said the aviation fuel didn’t spill directly into the lake, but onto the shoreline.

The railway has placed multiple contamination booms to contain any spillage.

The ministry said the responsible company is legally required to clean up any spill. It said the railway had found a shoreline cleanup professional who would be on site on Friday. 

CPKC said in a statement that it remains fully committed to the cleanup of the site, and that two rail cars were “safely removed from the site on Thursday. 

“CPKC environment crews remain on site working with federal, provincial, local and Indigenous responders on the cleanup of the spilled fuel and the removal of the remaining rail cars,” the statement says. 

The railway has said there were no injuries, and the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.