Arkansas oil spill: could this happen in your Metro Vancouver neighbourhood?

If you live in Metro Vancouver, Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline won't be anywhere near your home. However, the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which Kinder Morgan plans to twin, does run through local residential areas, such as in Burnaby.

Remember the 2007 gusher on Inlet Drive? That happened when a backhoe struck the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Now, from Exxon Mobil, comes another reminder of what can happen when a pipeline bursts in a residential neighbourhood. Late last week, the company's Pegasus pipeline spilled thousands of barrels of Canadian tar-sands crude in a Mayflower, Arkansas, subdivision. These videos give you an idea of at least the visible impact.