Repair delayed for pipe that caused major Winnipeg sewage leak

Millions of litres of raw sewage leaked into the Red River from Feb. 7 to 13, 2024. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg. Uploaded Feb. 21, 2024)

The City of Winnipeg has delayed a permanent repair to a pipe that was the cause of major sewage leak into the Red River last year.

According to the city, the schedule has been delayed so it can focus on improving the “robustness and efficiency” of the emergency bypass.

Though the city’s targeted installation was fall 2025, it has refocused its efforts to first make changes to the temporary bypass system by improving its capacity and reliability. Winnipeg said it changed around the pump arrangement, adding that the temporary bypass can pump a little bit more than the old crossing.

The city said another cause of the delay is that it wants to ensure it gets a qualified contractor for the repair, adding that it also has to consider flow conditions for when it switches over to the new pipe.

“This is highly specialized and complex work and there are only a handful of qualified contractors, all which are from outside the province,” it said in a statement.

“This type of tunneling also cannot be performed during winter conditions.”

This delay comes over a year after a pipe leak caused 135.2 million litres of untreated sewage to spill into the Red River at the Fort Garry Bridge. CTV News Winnipeg previously reported the spill was linked to a November 2023 incident when it was determined that one of the two river crossing pipes at the location had a leak.

Work on the permanent repair will begin in fall 2025. The new river crossing is expected to be in operation by May 2026.