Guelph wins award from OPWA for their emergency repair of sewer pipe

A broken sewer has helped the City of Guelph win an award.

The city received the Project of the Year award in the Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair under $2 million category from the Ontario Public Works Association.

The award was given for the city’s response to a damaged sanitary sewer that would have seen sewage end up in Howitt Creek.

According to a news release, the city worked with Aquafor Beech to prepare an emergency repair design in early 2022 after the site was recognized as an issue in 2021. The design was shared through the Grand River Conservation Authority and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

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They say the sewer pipe, which was first built in 1968, was slowly being eroded by natural creek flow.

The city hired Goetz Construction to do the repair work and it was completed last June. But before work even began, the creek was dammed with sandbags in order to allow water to drain and fish were removed and relocated.

The award was presented at an event on Tuesday.

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