Edmonton gas station under fire after water-contaminated fuel damages dozens of vehicles

CALGARY — A south Edmonton gas station has come under fire as dozens of customers had their vehicles contaminated after filling up with fuel that was discovered to be 50% water.Earlier this week, several drivers reported their vehicles breaking down shortly after filling up at an Esso Circle K station located at Ellerslie Road and Summerside Drive in Edmonton.The station is believed to have dispensed heavily water-contaminated fuel sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.Global News reports multiple mechanics across the city say the mixture they’re pulling for affected vehicles is, in some cases, up to 80% water, with some vehicle owners facing service bills of up to $3,000 in severe cases."The mix that we're seeing is about 50% water and then 50% fuel, which is enough that it actually won't combust and spark inside of the engine," Colton Williams of Kross Mitsubishi said, adding he had seven affected vehicles in his service bay Thursday and was in contact with at least two more customers whose cars wouldn't start at all.One of the customers who filled up, Brock Stewart, said he made it only a couple of blocks before his vehicle stalled and wouldn't restart.Stewart told Global News that he drained the vehicle’s gas tank and noticed something was wrong..“Once I filled up the buckets, I could see the different colours and textures,” Stewart said.“I spent about three hours last night in the cold snow, draining the tank and putting some fresh fuel in,” he said.“It started right up as soon as I did that.”The station's pumps were shut down Wednesday afternoon, with a Hydrovac truck and a fuel pump maintenance company working on site Thursday.A manager at the station declined an on-camera interview but told Global News no water alarms had been triggered by the station's monitoring systems..Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally addressed the matter Thursday.“We’ve heard from customers about what’s been going on,” Nally said.“We’ve been encouraging them to reach out to the consumer protection unit because that’s the first avenue that they have to go.”Online reaction to the incident was swift, with some commentators speculating about the cause of the contamination..“You're going to see this happen more often as prices go up, owners of these stations trying to make more profit while ruining people's lives, deliberate,” one X user said.Others pushed back on that theory, suggesting maintenance issues may be to blame.“This is actually usually caused because they're not maintaining the pumps properly,” another X commentator wrote.“There would have to be a serious problem with the underground tanks or the delivery truck for this not to be someone deliberately adding this much water to the fuel,” a third commentator added.This is not the first time car owners have had their engines contaminated with diluted fuels in recent weeks.Last week, an Esso station owner in Elmvale, Ontario, came under fire after contaminated gas was sold at his pumps and multiple customers complained about issues with their vehicles.After receiving complaints, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) — which regulates gas stations — arrived at the station.Upon inspection, the TSSA shut down the gas station and has since stopped it from selling fuel until the problems are resolved.Sukhwinder Kandhola, the station’s owner, told CTV News that “we didn’t do this on purpose or anything” and complained about racist comments online.“Some people are trying to defame us and going on social media and putting bad comments,” he said.

Edmonton gas station under fire after water-contaminated fuel damages dozens of vehicles

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