Untreated sewage recently released into Assiniboine River: City of Winnipeg

The city says the leak happened on April 17, resulting in more than a million litres of raw sewage spilling in the river.

An estimated 1,440,000 litres of untreated sewage was recently released into the Assiniboine River, according to the City of Winnipeg.

A report, released Wednesday, shows the leak happened on April 17 and lasted roughly one hour and 38 minutes.

The city said its wastewater control centre received an overflow alarm from the Riverbend pumping station that showed it was not keeping up with incoming sewage flows.

Crews closed a gate at 5:35 pm to stop the sewage from flowing into the Assiniboine River.

A large water main break was discovered by crews near the intersection of Saskatchewan Avenue and King Edward Street, which caused flow to increase.

The water leak was isolated by 4:40 p.m., but high flows took place until 6:16 p.m.

The outfall gate was reopened the next day, and the station resumed normal operations.

The city said they’ve informed the province about the sewage leak. A spokesperson for the province said the incident is currently under review.