Officials say a massive oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River last week will affect drinking water in surrounding communities for an extended period of time.

The Husky pipeline dumped over 250,000 gallons of crude oil and other substances into the river.

Workers frantically attempted to contain the spill through the weekend.

Members of the surrounding First Nations communities are demanding involvement in leading cleanup efforts and say the spill affects their communities access to hunt and fish throughout the territory.