The streets have almost been cleared and now the city says it’s time to start breaking down the huge snow piles that have surfaced all over Winnipeg thanks to the frequent snowfalls.
City of Winnipeg Manager of Streets Maintenance Michael Cantor says the city has received 36 centimetres of snow in January alone.
But he wants Winnipeggers to know clearing the piles won’t be an overnight process.
“We’ll get to it. We have a plan to move forward for the coming, probably, five weeks. We’re going to be day and night, hauling and blowing and reducing piles. We’re really asking residents to bear with us and (have) some patience.”
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Cantor says removing snow piles is not a cheap operation, but can’t yet estimate how much it will cost.
He says it was “physically impossible” for the city to clear snow piles at the same time as it was clearing residential streets over the weekend.
Will snow help or hurt homeowners?
All the snow is leading to some good and bad news for homeowners.
Seal-Rite Foundation Repair owner Dave Rennie says foundations could be at risk once the snow begins to melt.
“Some of that melting snow may make its way into those basements that previously weren’t leakers or had seepage problems,” Rennie said. He expects cracks won’t be visible until the summer.
But because of the dry summer of 2021, a little water is not necessarily a bad thing according to Rennie.
“The amount of snow we have now is going to go a long way to help re-hydrate some of this clay our homes and buildings are built on.”