Winnipeg's sewer lines are 'falling apart' – Winnipeg Free Press

The pipeline leak, which has so far sent 135.2 million liters of untreated sewage into the Red River, is just one symptom of the wider problems with sewage treatment, an environmentalist says.

The spill underscores the need to improve aging pipes and other infrastructure without losing momentum on larger projects, such as the $2.336 billion upgrade of the sewage treatment plant on Winnipeg's north side, which is a decade behind schedule, said Alexis Kanu, an environmental scientist and executive director of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation.

“Basically, we have a system that is falling apart at the seams everywhere. We are facing a serious shortage of sewage infrastructure in all aspects of the system,” Kanu said.

While the city is seeking funding from higher levels of government to help upgrade its multibillion-dollar sewer infrastructure, Kanu also said a clear, updated wastewater strategy is urgently needed to address all problem areas.

“For me, the No. 1 priority is phosphorus compliance at the city's largest treatment plant (north side), but then we have to look at all the other questions, the aging infrastructure, the leaking pipes under the river,” Kanu said.

A foundation leader called the leak at the 3100 Abinojii Mikana (Bishop Grandin Blvd.) Falls and River between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, “devastating.”

“We have dangerous natural waterways in our city and I don't think anyone wants that. I don't think any of our city officials, any of our citizens, want rivers that we treat as sewers. It should be a great asset to our city… (but) we are all afraid of a drop of river water getting on our skin,” Kanu said.

He stressed that such infrastructural failures cannot be considered “business as usual”.

Winnipeggers also don't have to admit that an upgrade to the plant's north end, designed to significantly reduce algae-causing nutrients like phosphorus in the plant's wastewater, is still pending. Its deadline was once set for 2014.

Kanu said the delay allowed “untreated” sewage to leave the city's largest treatment plant. On some days in December, phosphorus levels in wastewater from the plant were up to five times higher than the 1 mg/L limit expected to be updated, he said.

“It's very scary and it's more than 100 million liters (of sewage) a day,” Kanu said.

Additionally, the current spill of 135.2 million liters is linked to pipeline problems that began in November when one high-density pipeline under the river leaked and another pipeline was found to be in poor condition. That led the city to plan a bypass system to decommission both pipes, water and waste spokeswoman Lisa Markardson wrote in an email.

However, before this work could be completed, a second pipe burst last week and spilled water. Once the bypass is up and running, the sewage is expected to stop flowing in the coming days, Markardson said.

The spill is significant, but not the largest to date. In September 2002, before such spills were publicly reported, a mechanical failure at the northern plant caused 427 million liters of untreated sewage to be released into the Red River over 57 hours, Markardson wrote.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said the city is investing in ongoing maintenance to protect its rivers and strengthen its sewer system, and is already making wastewater treatment a top budget priority.

“Some of our water and sewer lines and infrastructure are very old, so we need to make these large, significant investments. That's one of the reasons we're undertaking the most complex, most expensive capital project in Winnipeg's history, and that's the Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant (upgrade). at present. I believe that,” Gillingham said.

The mayor and city council have pledged more funding to prevent sewage spills in recent years, including a budget increase to reduce combined sewage spills from about $30 million a year to $45 million a year between 2024 and 2027.

“Diluted sewage going into the river is something we're trying to avoid, so we're making (these) investments, among other things,” Gillingham 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.

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Joyanna Pursaga
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Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics are involved. Joyanna became the Winnipeg Free Press' city hall reporter in early 2020.

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