As work continues at the site of the gas leak explosion in downtown Wheatley, officials are anticipating another gas release in the coming days.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said a pattern that dates back to June 2, 2021, shows a build-up and release of the hydrogen sulphide gas every 38 and 47 days. Wednesday marks day 45 since the last gas release and another is likely to occur.
There have been five previous gas leaks in the area of 15 Erie Street North.
“Depending on the gas release date, residents may see heavy equipment on-site within a week,” the municipality said in a news release. “Preparations have been made to safely vent and capture a sample of gas for further analysis.”
However, municipal officials said the landscape of the area has been changed significantly during demolition and excavation, which may impact the typical cycle time of the gas release.
Excavation of the explosion site was paused just before Christmas after a second gas well was discovered.
The municipality said the next step of the “resolution process” will be to bring one of the wells to the surface, drill it, and conduct tests with pressurized water to determine if an underground connection exists between the two wells.
