A pipe leak caused sewage to spill into the Red River

A major pipe leak caused sewage to spill into the Red River at the Fort Harry Bridge.

According to the City of Winnipeg, between 9 a.m. on February 7 and midnight on February 13, an estimated 135.2 million liters of untreated sewage was released.

The city notes that the spill is related to an incident in November 2023, when a leak was discovered in one of the two rivers serving the site. He was fired immediately. The other pipe was also found to be in poor condition, but could still carry the flow across the river.

The city explained that both pipelines were installed in the 1970s and are used to divert wastewater from southwest Winnipeg to the South End Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Last week, city crews began work on a detour system on the Fort Harry Bridge. However, two days after the start of work, the second pipeline failed.

Due to this pipeline issue, the construction of the bypass has been accelerated. City officials expect the system to be up and running in the next few days, at which point the sewage will stop flowing.

The City of Winnipeg conducts regular inspections to detect leaks and assess pipes and has a replacement program.