Brooks, Alta., company charged in connection with 2022 workplace death

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) has filed 10 charges against a Brooks-based water management agency in connection with the death of a diver in 2022.

Among other charges, the province says the Eastern Irrigation District failed to ensure the safety of the worker and did not make sure the workers were properly trained for the task at hand.

The company was conducting underwater maintenance at the Rolling Hills Reservoir and Lake Newell reservoir gates on Oct. 20, 2022.

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What exactly happened to the diver is unclear, but officials say the 55-year-old man did not resurface.

According to the OHS website, the Eastern Irrigation District also failed to properly assess the work site and identify potential hazards, did not prepare a report of the hazard assessment and did not have a plan to respond to "an emergency that could require rescue or evacuation."

The province said the company also failed to "ensure the flow through the intake of a pipe, tunnel, duct or similar installation in the vicinity of a dive, was stopped and the intake mechanism was locked out before the dive began."

CTV News has reached out to Eastern Irrigation District for comment on the charges.