Multiple water main breaks prompt boil water advisories in Moose Jaw

Two areas in Moose Jaw, Sask. were under a boil water advisory Tuesday after six water main breaks were reported to the city.

According to the City of Moose Jaw, as of 2 p.m., city crews had completed repairs on two breaks but were still working on the other breaks on 3rd Avenue and Maple Street West, 3rd Avenue and High Street, the 1300 block of 2nd Avenue West and the 1220 block of 1st Avenue NW.

The areas where the two breaks were repaired – 700 Caribou Street West and 300 Ross Street West – are now under a boil water advisory.

The city said all the breaks are on cast iron mains that are estimated to be 110 years old. The breaks are affecting approximately 200 properties.

To date, there have been 63 water main breaks in 2016 compared to 49 in 2015 and 60 in 2014.

The city said on Tuesday that six water main breaks at once is an unusually large number.

“Our public works manager is deploying additional resources to address this large number of breaks. Restoring full water service to affected residents is our priority,” Josh Mickleborough, director of engineering services for the City of Moose Jaw, said.

“These breaks are a sign of our aging cast iron infrastructure and stresses the urgency of cast iron water main replacements.”

The cast iron infrastructure has become a major issue in the upcoming civic election.

Earlier this year, the Moose Jaw city council approved a Local Improvement Program (LIP) funding model to pay for the replacement of cast iron water mains.

Under the LIP, the city would pay 70 per cent of the water main replacement cost, with homeowners picking up the remaining 30 per cent. They could either pay a lump sum or add it to their property tax for 20 years with a four per cent interest rate.

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However, on Oct. 26, residents will vote in a referendum to decide how the city will pay for the replacements.