City Crews Contend With Watermain Breaks

The bitter cold has City crews working round the clock

Jan 15, 2020 | 8:24 AM

PRINCE GEORGE–City crews are braving the cold and aging infrastructure, working to repair two major water main breaks.

Southridge Avenue between St. Anne and St. Lawrence Avenue by the Southridge Elementary School, is a priority with the water shutoff since yesterday afternoon.

“This break has resulted in the loss of water service for several dozen residences in the area,” reads a City of Prince George news release. “The break occurred on water main installed in 1992. At this time, the City does not believe that the cold weather was the cause of the break as the main is located well below the frost line underground.”

However, the City says the extreme cold is negatively affecting the City’s ability to conduct operations to fix the main, restore service, and meet timelines. The City says work could be completed as late as the end of day tomorrow (Jan.16), when temperatures are expected to rise.

The other break on their radar is at 6th Avenue and between Winnipeg and Vancouver Streets.

“The City believes that the cold air did play a factor in the break, due to the old age of the utility, which was installed in 1956, and its relatively shallow depth,” says the City.

“City crews have reduced the water flowing in the main, which as resulted in a reduced, but not completely stopped water flow, to buildings in the area. The City also anticipates that it will take extra time to repair the main and return water service to full capacity due to the extremely cold temperatures.”

The extreme cold has also prompted the City to suspend full snow and ice control operations for the next 24 hours to reduce the risk of extreme cold weather damage to City fleets and contractor equipment.