An oil spill on a lake north of the city on Tuesday had the Ministry of the Environment and Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health called in for assessments Wednesday morning.

Approximately 90 litres of fuel oil washed into Crow Lake, located just northwest of Westport, late in the day.

“A beaver dam has let loose and washed out a part of the roadway, and has also taken with it a household oil tank,” said Ed Gardner, manager, environmental health at KFL&A Public Health.

The spilled oil washed into the lake, but has been contained in a small area and is not wide­spread, Gardner said. He added it’s possible that weather changes could affect the outlook.

KFL&A Public Health has issued a drinking water advisory for residences near the spill, meaning that tap water should not be used for drinking, cooking or other personal uses.

Two KFL&A public inspectors went door-to-door Wednesday telling residents about the advisory.

The Township of Central Frontenac’s fire department worked until 2 a.m. Wednesday to contain the spill, and the Ministry of the Environment was at the lake in a boat midday to do an assessment.

“The township, thanks to a local contractor who wasn’t too far away with a bulldozer, worked through the night and managed to have the road back open,” said John DuChene, chief administrative officer for the township.

DuChene said that at this point, it’s unknown what the costs will be, but said there will be extensive work required.

The spill took place almost simultaneously with Tuesday evening’s Central Frontenac council meeting, at which beaver dams were a topic of discussion.

At the meeting, councillors received a draft of the “Management of Beaver Dams” bylaw, which is set to come to question at council’s next meeting. If passed, the bylaw would allow municipal employees to enter private property to inspect beaver dams.

“The building of dams by a beaver on public lands (municipal or Crown land) and private properties creates from time to time a threat of flood damage to township roads and related infrastructure,” the report to council says.