Raw sewage leak that dumped 230 million litres in Red River fixed, but system repairs urgent: mayor

A leak that dumped hundreds of millions of litres of untreated sewage into the Red River in south Winnipeg has finally been contained and the bypass system is fully operational, the city says.

The last spill ended at 12:13 a.m. on Wednesday and residents in southwest Winnipeg are no longer asked to reduce their water usage.

Some 90,000 residences and businesses in the southwest area of the city were urged to scale back their water usage as much as possible during the repairs.

In total, the leak released close to 230 million litres of sewage into the river since it was discovered Feb. 7 in a pipe underneath the Red River near the Fort Garry Bridge. The pipes carry sewage to the South End treatment plant.

The city had started work on a temporary bypass system when the leak was discovered, after a routine inspection in November found issues with the two pipes crossing below the river.

One pipe was taken out of service immediately, but the remaining working pipe then failed as well — sooner than expected, according to city officials.

Work was sped up on the bypass system but until Wednesday, only one of the two pumps needed for that system was functioning. Following mechanical repairs, the second pump was installed Wednesday evening.

'Everyone is frustrated': mayor

"Now, both of those pumps are working, and that's eliminated any spills to this point, and so the system is working like it's intended to work," Mayor Scott Gillingham told reporters at an unrelated Friday news conference.

Crews will monitor the bypass system and make adjustments, as necessary, to ensure it's working properly, the city's Friday release said.

The bypass system is expected to be in place until the river crossing pipes that failed can be replaced. Work to replace the pipes will begin right away, with construction continuing in 2025.

"If we can speed up the repair of the new pipes, that would be our collective goal," Gillingham said.

He has kept in constant contact with city staff about the leak throughout the week, and spoke with Premier Wab Kinew about it Friday, saying "everyone is frustrated."

"Nobody wants to see this happen."

The biggest sewage spill in the city's records occurred in September 2002, when a mechanical failure at the North End Water Pollution Control Centre caused a spill into the Red River of 427 million litres of untreated sewage over a 57-hour period, water and waste department spokesperson Lisa Marquardson previously told CBC News.

The provincial Clean Environment Commission ordered Winnipeg to build two new facilities at the North End sewage treatment plant — the city's oldest, largest and most critical plant — in 2003, after it conducted hearings into the 2002 spill.

Gillingham said it's too soon to comment on whether the recent sewage spill will lead to another new major project for the city, but says it needs help from all three levels of government to complete projects like upgrades to the North End plant.

Ottawa initially pledged up to $200.9 million in 2022 through its green infrastructure fund for those upgrades, while the provincial government promised about $167 million and the city provided $184 million.

"The costs have gone, in the second phase, from $500 million to over a billion dollars. Unless the city receives [increased] contributions from the federal and provincial governments … Winnipeg ratepayers are going to be buried," Gillingham said.

"There's a lot of focus right now on housing, as there should be ... but you got to have the sewer pipes and the sewer systems to accommodate that growth," he said.

"We cannot bear the full cost of all these projects alone."

Tim Shanks, the city's water and waste director, thanked Winnipeggers for their co-operation this week with the city's pleas to limit their water usage in light of work to address the spill in the city's Friday news release.

The city also said speed limits on the bridge will be reduced while the bypass system is in place, from 80 km/h to 60 km/h. All lanes have been reopened, though they are narrower, and intermittent closures may be required for various maintenance activities.

The bypass system was built on the Fort Garry Bridge to direct sewage across the river and then into pipes leading to the treatment plant.