Several water main breaks have occurred in Lethbridge in a short period of time, raising questions about the durability of the city’s pipeline infrastructure.
According to Jeff Koshuta, the city’s water and wastewater operations manager, this year isn’t much different from others.
“In this month of January, we’ve had four already,” he said. “The 10-year average in the month of January is five breaks.
“It looks like we are on target to experience 34, 35 breaks, which is close to our 10-year average.”
Recent thawing and freezing cycles in the region have contributed to the issues, which included the opening of a sinkhole on 6 Avenue S. last week. That caused damage to passenger vehicles.
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Most water main breaks occur between October and March.
“With the fluctuations in weather, the frost will get driven into the ground,” Koshuta explained. “We have found that the lower the frost is in the ground, or the lower the depth, we will run into problems with pipes unexpectedly breaking.”
Work is underway to replace older pipes with newer, more durable ones. As part of its improvement plan, each year the city said it spends roughly $1.8 million to $2 million on upgrades to PVC, a material known for its corrosion and chemical resistance.
“A lot of the cast iron was installed in the 40s, 50s and 60s,” Koshuta explained. “In the 70s, that’s when pipes switched over to different materials.”
Koshuta said these upgrades should see the number of breaks continue to decline year over year.