Regina seeing most water main breaks in almost 30 years

The City of Regina is dealing with its worst case of water main breaks in almost 30 years.

In July, there were 28 water main breaks in the queen city, which is well above the five-year average for the month of 6.6 incidents.

Director of Waterworks Pat Wilson said dry weather, along with the city’s clay base soil, is to blame.

“When the soil conditions change and that clay dries out, it moves and it’s very powerful,” she said. “It can cause cracking in things that are rigid and inflexible.”

She noted the last time they dealt with this many breaks was in 1988, when the city saw 35 water mains burst.

Wilson said if pipes feeding water from the main to the individual house were taken into account, there were 71 total leaks last month.

Currently, the city is working on fixing 27 leaks from both mains and service lines.

Wilson said they prioritize the order of repairs by the number of people affected, as well as safety concerns.

“Maybe we have water that’s coming up in a dangerous place, that’s going to go up on the list,” she said. “If we have a larger group of people who are out of service, that’s going to go to the top of the list.”

It’s not expected to get easier for the city anytime soon.

Wilson said the busiest month is usually September, due to the city seeing a lot of drying out during August.