A leaking pipe is sending sewage into the Red River in St. Vital – Winnipeg Free Press

Over the past few days, a pipeline leak has dumped nearly 116 million liters of untreated sewage into the Red River — and it hasn't stopped.

The City of Winnipeg's website notes that approximately 115.8 million liters of sewage was released from a pipe that crosses the falls and river at 3100 Abinojii Mikanah (Bishop Grandin Blvd.) between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Monday, February 7.

“We're working on it … and of course the environmental impact is a concern,” Kuhn said. Brian Mayes, chairman of the council's water and waste committee, said Monday.

The volume of the sewage spill appears to be unusually large.

In 2022, when a major sewage spill dumped 78 million liters of diluted sewage into the Assiniboine River, the city said it was the worst flooding event in at least five years.

In that case, snowmelt sewage was released into the river when a temporary sewage pump could not handle the flow when the city replaced the Portage Avenue retaining sewer.

Mayes (St. Vital) stressed the need to continue routine infrastructure investments to prevent pipeline failures, which he said is standard practice for the city.

“This shows the need to plow more than $20 million a year into our sewers. This is apart from combined sewer work (to prevent overflow of combined sewers)… We must continue to modernize the sewers,” he said.

Old Winnipeg sewers, which collect rainwater and sewage in a single pipe, produce mixed sewage. Heavy rain or snow events can cause such pipes to overflow, sending an estimated 27.5 billion liters of diluted wastewater into local waterways in 2022.

In an email, water and waste spokeswoman Lisa Markardson said the pipeline problems associated with the current spill began in November, when crews discovered a leak in a 700-millimeter, high-density polyethylene pipe under the river that “led to its immediate removal.” service”.

“The 800 mm HDPE pipe was also found to be in poor condition but still able to handle the flow through the river. “Planning for a detour to decommission both pipelines began immediately after the first pipeline failure,” Markardson wrote.

Work began last week to build a detour across the Fort Harry Bridge to restore sewer capacity, leading to lane closures.

However, two days before this project, the second pipeline failed. After this setback, the construction of the bypass system across the bridge has been accelerated, so the bypass system can be put into operation soon, Markardson noted.

“After the emergency bypass pumping system is installed and activated, the flow of wastewater stops, and two pipes under the river are abandoned. We expect all lanes of traffic on the bridge to open once the detour is in place.”

On Monday, Markardson said the bypass should stop leaking and be operational “in the next few days.”

The city noted that wet weather, including recent thaw temperatures, increased the spill.

“Wet weather makes it worse because it adds more flow to the pipes and increases the volume going into the river,” Markardson said.

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