Regina city council considering expediting renewal asbestos-cement water pipes

Regina city council passed a motion to explore speeding up the replacement of asbestos-cement water pipes. Damian Smith reports.

Regina’s city council discussed a motion at its most recent meeting, considering the expediting the renewal of asbestos-cement water pipes.

The motion, brought forward by Coun. Shanon Zachidniak, pushed for expediting the timeline for the renewal, which would occur over a period of approximately five years, as well as researching “potential funding options to mitigate costs through provincial and federal government programs.”

Asbestos awareness advocate Julian Branch, who’s been involved in asbestos research since 2012, spoke to city council on Wednesday.

“We know asbestos is a Group 1 carcinogen, we’ve known that for decades,” he said.

“We know that it causes cancer, it’s recognized as carcinogenic by every organization in the world. There’s a debate about inhaling asbestos and ingesting asbestos, and when I discovered that there are close to 600 kilometers of asbestos cement water mains in Regina that are deteriorating there, that poses a concern.”

Health Canada says there hasn’t been “consistent, convincing evidence” that ingesting asbestos is harmful. However, inhaling asbestos fibres has been linked to lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Branch notes that asbestos in pipes is not just a Regina issue, but a global one. He cites a 1973 study conducted in Duluth, Minnesota, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found there were 644 million asbestos fibres present in one litre of the city’s water.

“There are volumes of studies that say drinking asbestos causes cancer,” he said. “When you look at the 92 fact sheets in the United States of America when they were regulated, it says we’re setting the level at seven million fibers per liter to protect against cancer. It’s not short-term health effects; it’s long-term health effects.”

Branch would like the City of Regina to speed up its maintenance.

He told reporters he remains “cautiously optimistic” after Wednesday’s meeting.

The City would like to hear from Health Canada, before looking at next steps.

“If Health Canada were to come and say, ‘We’ve learned some new information on this,’ then absolutely. I’m confident that as a city, we would be taking that information and layering that onto our infrastructure plans,” Mayor Chad Bachynski explained.

According to city administration, there were 143 reported water main breaks in 2025. A water main break repair costs between $10,000 to $15,000.

“We’re just keeping our head above water, we’re not fixing that problem,” Branch argued. “The recommendation from Wednesday’s meeting was to bring back a report in Q4 with potential renewal scenarios spanning 10-20 kilometers. “We’re down to 7 to 9 km a year, so they’ve got a big issue that needs to be dealt with. It’s been ignored in this city for years, for decades.”

Citing a 2007 National Research Council Report, Branch said the neighbourhoods of Whitmore Park and Hillsdale had the most asbestos cement water breaks in Regina.

The City says that Wednesday was about comparing the breakage rates of pipes versus the cost to replace those pipes.

“I’m quite interested to see what that ratio looks like,” said Bachynski. “What was mentioned today is, what would be the difference if we were to invest the money from the breakage into investing in new pipes, and would that change that outcome? Given our focus on infrastructure, I think it’s not a bad idea to put that to the forefront so everybody can see it in the public as well.”

City council ultimately voted in favour of the motion.