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Water and Waste Department

Reports on untreated sewage

As requested by the Province of Manitoba, we report on the incidents of untreated sewer release into the environment as a result of a disruption to our wastewater collection system. These events are usually the result of something unanticipated like a water main break or a power outage. When sewer operations are disrupted, the sewage can be released into the environment, which helps protect public health and prevent property damage like basement flooding.

2005

Date Location Estimated
discharge		 Estimated
duration		 Cause Incident details and response
December 29 Assiniboine River - Assiniboine flood pump station Volume unknown. Duration unknown. Crew felt they caught it promptly. Blockage of sewer opening.
  • At approximately 1:30 p.m., crew discovered discharge from station outfall pipe and stopped overflow by closing gate.
  • Crew reported that a 4.5 foot long 2'x6' board had created a blockage by lodging across the sewer opening.
  • Board removed and station returned to normal operation by 3:30 p.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
December 28 Red River - Hart Avenue lift station Volume unknown. Low discharge rate with no noticeable impact on river other than local ice melt. Duration unknown. Station inspections and remote monitors indicate normal operations from Dec. 20-28. Partial blockage of the station intake pipe from wastewater sediment.
  • At approximately 1:20 p.m., received report of a discharge from Hart Avenue lift station.
  • Crew arrived at 1:35 p.m. and stopped overflow at 1:45 p.m. by closing gate.
  • Crew reported that wastewater sediment caused a partial blockage of the station intake pipe. Overflow resulted from additional inflow due to snow melt runoff.
  • Blockage cleared by 3:30 p.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
November 7 Red River - Hawthorne Avenue pumping station 10,000 litres 15 minutes Water main break
  • Overflow alarm received at 2:40 a.m. and crew arrived at 3:00 a.m.
  • Estimate overflow started at 2:55 a.m.
  • Overflow stopped at 3:10 a.m. by closing combined sewer outfall gate.
  • Station pumping capacity exceeded due to a water main break in the 500 block of McLeod Ave.
  • Break stopped, overflow alarm cleared at 3:52 a.m. and gate re-opened.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
October 29 Assiniboine River - Aubrey lift station 128,000 litres 1 hour and 25 minutes Overflow due to reservoir maintenance
  • Overflow alarm received at 11:18 a.m. and crew arrived at 12:15 p.m.
  • Estimate overflow started at 11:35 a.m.
  • Overflow stopped at 1:00 p.m.
  • Station pump capacity exceeded due to excess flows during draining of McPhillips water reservoir.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
October 27 - 31 Red River - Hart Avenue lift station 400,000 litres 4.5 days Tree root obstruction
  • At 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, October 29, citizen reported seeing discharge from outfall at Hart Avenue lift station starting around October 27.
  • Maintenance crew dispatched and reported discharge might be mud coming out of outfall due to recent low Red River levels.
  • Station functioning normally with no alarms. Deferred to lift station crew for further investigation.
  • Crew arrived Monday, October 31, at 8:45 a.m. and stopped spill at 9:15 a.m. by closing gate.
  • Crew found large tree root partially obstructing station intake and removed it.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
August 18 Red River - Mager Drive lift station 150,000 litres 25 minutes Human error
  • During station improvement work by contractors, an overflow alarm was received at 12:11 p.m.
  • Responding crew arrived at 12:30 p.m. and found pump turned off.
  • Pump turned on and overflow stopped at 12:45 p.m.
  • Estimate overflow started at 12:20 p.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
August 14 Red River - Mager Drive lift station 90,000 litres 15 minutes Human error
  • During improvement work on the station, operating staff weren't contacted in time to start up the main pump after a temporary pump was shut off.
  • As a result, wastewater began to spill to the river around 1:05 p.m.
  • Operators arrived and started the pump at 1:20 p.m., stopping the discharge.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
August 10 Assiniboine River - Mayfair lift station 216,000 litres 30 minutes Broken pump counterweight caused discharge valves to close.
  • Overflow alarm received at 6 p.m.
  • Responding crew arrived at the lift station by 6:30 p.m. and had overflow corrected by 6:45 p.m.
  • Estimate the overflow started at 6:15 p.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
March 10 Red River - St. Norbert sewage pumping station 147,000 litres 3 hours and 42 minutes Manitoba Hydro power outage
  • Power failure alarm received at 5 a.m.
  • Sewer system storage capacity exceeded and overflow began around 6:40 a.m.
  • Power restored at 9:40 a.m. and overflow alarm stopped at 10:22 a.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Water Stewardship.
January 10 Red River -
Crane sewage pumping station		 172,000 litres 1 hour Manitoba Hydro 600V power outage
  • Estimate overflow occurred between 5:40 a.m. and 6:40 a.m.
  • Power restored by 8:50 a.m. and alarm stopped at 8:55 a.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Water Stewardship.
January 4 Assiniboine River -
Conway combined sewer station 		Volume unknown as flow from water main breaks difficult to estimate. 3 hours 43 minutes Water main breaks
  • Overflow alarm received at 6:30 a.m.
  • Responding crew determined that source was three local water main breaks.
  • Breaks isolated around 10:00 a.m. and overflow stopped at 10:13 a.m.
  • Harbourmaster advised so appropriate signage for thin ice in the area could be undertaken.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Water Stewardship.
Last updated: January 8, 2024

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