The City of Winnipeg has spent more than $4 million on repairs linked to a massive February sewage spill that dumped nearly 230 litres of raw sewage into the Red River.
The city spent $180,000 on engineering services for an emergency bypass at the Fort Garry St. Vital sewer crossing, $2,744,370 to construct and operate the bypass and $1,400,000 to design and administer its permanent replacement, for total spending of $4,324,370 so far.
A permanent replacement of the pipes at 3100 Abinojii Mikanah, formerly Bishop Grandin Boulevard, is expected to cost about $20 million, with the province paying $10 million.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
It took multiple repairs to stop a sewage leak in the Red River at the Fort Garry Bridge in February. A $20-million estimate for the permanent repair is being refined.
Coun. Jeff Browaty, chairman of council’s finance committee, said the tab so far isn’t a surprise, since the city rushed repairs to stop sewage spills.
“Some of those on-the-fly (emergency repairs) do cost a little bit more. Getting the raw sewage that was directly going into the river there stopped was a priority,” said Browaty.
“It’s the right thing to do, obviously, because it was such a significant, unplanned break. It’s one of those things you have to address expeditiously. We’re all stewards of the lake,” he added.
Sewage that enters the Red River eventually winds up in Lake Winnipeg, where it can fuel algae growth.
Pipe deterioration at the site was discovered in November 2023, when an inspection found one of two sewer pipes crossing the Red River at the Fort Garry bridges had failed and the other was in poor condition. The leaking pipe was immediately taken out of service and planning for an emergency bypass system began, a city report notes.
The temporary bypass system was being assembled in February when the second pipe failed, the report says. As the Free Press previously reported, it then took multiple repairs to stop the leak.
A $20-million estimate for the permanent repair is now being refined as that project is designed, with construction expected in 2025, the report says.
Browaty said the leaks are not linked to a delay in city infrastructure maintenance, noting the issue was detected through regular inspections.
“This isn’t a circumstance where we were politically, in any way, shape or form trying to delay infrastructure work,” he said.
The massive sewage spill led some First Nations leaders to demand urgent action to stop it. In the spring, several of those communities launched a $4-billion lawsuit against the city, province and feds over allegations the governments failed to protect Lake Winnipeg, noting the spill as an example.
The allegations have not been proven.
The city has not yet filed a statement of defence for the lawsuit, according to a spokesman.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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