Public Works weighs in on Melfort water main breaks
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A portion of Main St. in Melfort is still closed today as crews continue working on water lines.
Work on the 700 block of Main St. began after a water main break on Dec. 23.
Repairs were made, water was restored and the block was issued a precautionary drinking water advisory. Crews returned to the same site on Jan. 3 to work on another leak according to Director of Works and Utilities Gerald Gilmore.
Chairman of the Public Works Committee, Doug Terry, told northeastNOW that there are many factors that come into play when these types of breaks occur.
Aging, deteriorating infrastructure combined with soil conditions that may shift and bend the pipes can lead to a break.
“Ground frost in winter adds to the equation by adding more ground pressure movement,” Terry said. “This is worsened in a case of recent excavation undertaken to repair a leak.”
Terry added this is why some repairs are undertaken more than once.
“Also disturbing deteriorated pipes when conducting a repair contributes to more leaks down the pipe in the same area,” Terry said.
The 700 block of Main St. is scheduled for pipe replacement.
“Hopefully we can reduce the number of water leaks by future extensive replacement programs in the city,” he said.
However, Terry did add any replacement programs would be dependent on receiving federal grants.
angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca
