New water pipes could be leading to fewer water main breaks this year, as only one-third of the number of breaks have occurred compared to last year.
From July to September, the City of Moose Jaw responded to 12 water main breaks, compared to 37 during the same time last year, data from city hall shows. Year-to-date, city crews have repaired 31 water main breaks than 94 during the same time in 2019.
Overall, there were 12 water main breaks during the first quarter of this year and seven during the second quarter. Conversely, there were 34 water main breaks during Q1 last year and 23 breaks during the second quarter.
City administration presented the data to city council during the most recent regular meeting as part of a comprehensive report on third-quarter activities at city hall.
Significant decrease
Coun. Dawn Luhning called attention to the decrease in water main breaks, pointing to a significant drop year-over-year.
“It is absolutely (down), 100 per cent,” said city manager Jim Puffalt. “They’re about 50 per cent of where we are normally this time of year. We’re seeing a … few more breaks over the past two weeks. Again, frost is starting to move on that.”
The public works and utilities department cannot specifically point to why there are fewer water main breaks this year. Still, the replacement of older pipes was helping, said department director Darrin Stephanson.
While some breaks have moved into new areas of the distribution system, the department saw a decrease in breaks until about three weeks ago.
“We have not hit some of our previous levels yet, but we are seeing more frequency,” Stephanson added. “It would be subjective to guess why. We do see some drier soils around the pipes, and we think frost is now starting to make enough movement that breaks are starting to occur.”
More department support
City hall created a second work crew for the public works and utilities department at the beginning of 2020 to address the backlog of repairs. However, after the pandemic hit, city administration redeployed those employees to fill potholes.
That second work crew recently transitioned back in the department, which means the two crews can address the list of infrastructure repairs in the triple-digits, Stephanson said.
“It’s a bit of a blessing that the water main breaks have been quiet this year,” he added. “That allows us to keep an even keel. Hopefully, we can make progress on the backlogs.”
Solid waste and sanitation
The City of Moose Jaw collected 13,813.06 kilograms of refuse during this year’s third quarter. This includes 8,929.35 kilograms from commercial, 2,278.53 kgs from private locations and 2,605.18 kgs from residential.
In comparison, the municipality collected 10,534.73 kgs of garbage during the same time last year.
Also, during Q3 of this year, the city collected 304,460 kgs of recyclable material, of which 296,083 kgs was allowable. In comparison, the municipality collected 367,186 kgs of recyclable items in Q3 2019, of which 367,186 kgs was allowable.
Transit
The City of Moose Jaw did not collect bus fares in July or August, or from Sept. 1 to 7, due to the pandemic. Regular fares were reinstated on Sept. 8.
The number of passengers who used cash or tickets during this year’s third quarter was 5,419 people. In comparison, 17,231 riders used cash or tickets in Q3 2019. Meanwhile, the number of passengers who used monthly passes in Q3 this year was 3,166, compared to 41,001 during the same time last year.
Overall, there have been 8,585 total bus users year-to-date, compared to 58,232 users in 2019.
Also, the number of passengers who took special needs transit was 1,968 during this year’s third quarter, compared to 8,229 users during the same time last year.
The next regular council meetings are Dec. 7 and 21.
