Above and beyond: satellite surveys area for leaks

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REGINA - SaskEnergy is going above and beyond to try to prevent another gas-line explosion such as the one a year ago in a lakeside community north of Regina.

One home was destroyed and several others were damaged in Regina Beach when shifting ground caused a natural gas leak and explosion.

SaskEnergy's Dave Burdeniuk says the utility has done a lot of work in the hamlet since then, including the installation of more flexible components.

He says SaskEnergy is also using a satellite-monitoring service that sweeps over the area to identify more than 8,000 points on the gas line.

Burdeniuk says the satellite bounces a radar beam off all those points and can detect movement within three to four millimetres.

He says the ground is still moving in the community on the shores of Last Mountain Lake and natural gas service has been permanently removed from 24 homes. …