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Good Friday and Easter Monday – View holiday hours for City of Winnipeg facilities and services from March 29 to April 1.

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.

2009

Date Location Estimated
discharge
Estimated
duration
Cause Incident details and response
December 31 Red River - Metcalfe sewage lift station Unknown 135 minutes Water main break
  • High level alarm received at 5:17 a.m. due to large volume of drinking water draining into combined sewer from water main break at Braemar Avenue and Niverville Avenue.
  • Crew arrived at 5:55 a.m. and found flow to station exceeding pumping capacity. Estimate that discharge began at 5:45 a.m.
  • Due to extreme cold weather, crew was unable to safely operate sluice gate on outfall pipe without risking damage to gate operator.
  • Water main break isolated and water flow into combined sewer stopped at approximately 6:50 a.m.
  • Levels in sewer declined and discharge of diluted raw sewage to river stopped at approximately 8:00 a.m.
  • River Patrol Unit notified of discharge in order to properly identify area around outfall with appropriate signage.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
December 20 Red River - Metcalfe sewage lift station Unknown 42 minutes Water main break
  • High level alarm received at 10:20 a.m. due to large volume of drinking water draining into combined sewer from water main break at 118 Coniston Street.
  • Crew arrived at 11:00 a.m. and found flow to station exceeding pumping capacity. Estimate that discharge began at 10:30 a.m.
  • Crew closed sluice gate on outfall pipe at 11:12 a.m., stopping discharge of diluted raw sewage to river.
  • Water main break isolated and water flow into combined sewer stopped. Levels in sewer declined and sluice gate re-opened at 11:40 a.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
December 11 - 21 Red River - North side of St. John's Park Unknown 10 days Collapsed sewer
  • On December 11, crews noticed open water along shore of Red River at St. John's Park storm relief sewer outfall and began investigation.
  • On December 21, crews confirmed that a section of the sewer under St. John's Avenue between Powers and Salter Streets had collapsed, allowing only a portion of the flow to get through sewer. Excess wastewater was being forced into storm relief sewer along Mountain Avenue and then flowing into Red River.
  • Crews closed sluice gate, stopping discharge of raw sewage to river. Wastewater from sewer now being stored in relief sewer, until it overflows into interceptor sewer and then to wastewater treatment plant.
  • Work underway to open up collapsed sewer on a temporary basis and restore flow so that wastewater can resume normal path to treatment plant.
  • Crews monitoring situation until temporary repair is in place.
  • Permanent repair will be performed early in 2010. Upon completion, sluice gate will be opened.
  • No reports of homes affected with basement flooding.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
November 20 Red River - Syndicate sewage lift station 57,000 litres 40 minutes Sprinkler line break
  • High level alarm received at 3:29 a.m. due to large volume of drinking water from sprinkler line break at 109 Higgins Ave. draining into the combined sewer that leads to the Syndicate station.
  • Crew arrived at 3:55 a.m. and found flow to station exceeding pumping capacity. Estimate that discharge began at 3:35 a.m.
  • Crew closed sluice gate on outfall pipe at 4:15 a.m. stopping discharge of diluted raw sewage to river.
  • Water line break isolated and flow of water into sewer stopped around 3:57 a.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
November 3 Red River - Syndicate sewage lift station 220,000 litres 30 minutes Large sewage volume
  • High level alarm received at 7:27 a.m. due to large volume of sewage from an unknown origin being discharged into the combined sewer that leads to the Syndicate station.
  • Crew arrived at 7:50 a.m. and found flow to station exceeding pumping capacity.
  • Crew closed sluice gate on outfall pipe at 8:00 a.m. stopping discharge of combined raw sewage to river.
  • Staff are investigating the Syndicate catchment area to locate the origin of the excess sewage.
  • Levels in sewer have returned to near normal levels. However, the sluice gate will remain closed until the investigation is complete. Staff will be onsite monitoring sewer levels until the sluice gate is opened.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
October 10 Red River - Metcalfe sewage lift station 10,000 litres 1 hour and 10 minutes Water main break
  • High level alarm received at 12:45 a.m. due to large volume of drinking water draining into combined sewer from water main break at the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and Caton Street.
  • Crew arrived at 1:48 a.m. and found flow to station exceeding pumping capacity.
  • Crew closed sluice gate on outfall pipe at 1:55 a.m. stopping discharge of diluted raw sewage to river.
  • Water main break isolated and flow of water into sewer stopped around 3:00 a.m. Levels in sewer declined and sluice gate re-opened at 10:10 a.m.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
March 2 Red River - Hawthorne sewage lift station 260,000 litres 4 hours and 35 minutes Water main break
  • High level alarm received at 4:05 a.m. due to large volume of drinking water draining into combined sewer from water main break on Bardel Bay.
  • Crew arrived at 4:25 a.m. and found flow to station exceeding pumping capacity.
  • Estimate that overflow to Red River started at 4:25 a.m.
  • Due to extreme cold weather, crew was unable to safely operate sluice gate on outfall pipe without risking damage to gate operator.
  • Water main break isolated and flow of water into sewer stopped around 7:15 a.m. Levels in sewer declined and discharge of diluted raw sewage to river stopped at approximately 9:00 a.m.
  • River Patrol Unit notified of discharge in order to properly identify affected area around outfall with appropriate signage.
  • Incident reported to Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Environmental Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada.
Last updated: January 8, 2024

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