Last year was a “horrible year” for water breaks in Moose Jaw, says the city manager, as there were 12 more ruptures of underground pipes compared to the year before.
There were 109 water main breaks in 2019 compared to 97 the year before, according to fourth-quarter statistics from city hall. There were 15 water main breaks specifically during Q4 last year compared to 29 during the same time two years ago.
“Hopefully we can turn the corner. Breaks to date are better than last year,” city manager Jim Puffalt said. “Last year there were 11 breaks during Family (Day holiday) week. We’re glad to report that didn’t happen this year. With the Scotties, that would have been quite disruptive.”
A report on the activities of city hall departments for the fourth quarter of 2019 was presented during city council’s most recent regular meeting. Council voted 6-1 to receive and file the report; Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed.
Roads, lanes and water mains
During the fourth quarter last year, the engineering department paved roughly 1.5 kilometres of lanes; rebuilt about 100 square metres of roads; and evaluated 231 metres of sanitary sewer mains and 24 service laterals on Brigham Road.
Construction occurred on all six sites of the cast iron water main program, the report said. Five of the six sites have been completed, while the remaining site will require sidewalk and paving work this spring.
Work on the intersection of Caribou Street West and First Avenue Northwest was completed in October, while 75 per cent of the intersection at Ninth Avenue Southwest and Lillooet Street West has been completed. SaskPower still needs to relocate its overhead lines while the department needs to finish concrete work; both projects will be completed this spring.
The replacement of sidewalks and curbs at Seventh Avenue Southwest and Keith Crescent has been fully completed, although the replacement of medians stands at 72 per cent after the project was halted due to cold weather.
Solid waste
With diversion of waste from the landfill, 18.6 per cent of materials were diverted to recycling in the fourth quarter, compared to 20.2 per cent during the same time two years ago. The total amount of recycling collected during Q4 2019 was 395,270 kilograms compared to 422,472 kg at the same time in 2018.
Coun. Scott McMann noted that the amount of commercial landfill tonnage received (12,776.76 kg) was nearly eight times higher than residential material (1,690.86 kg) taken in. He wondered if those commercial products were from Moose Jaw or if the landfill was attracting out-of-town trucks; if it was outside vehicles, then there is an opportunity to increase commercial rates.
There has actually been a decline in the amount of out-of-town commercial material being delivered after commercial rates were increased a few years ago, explained Josh Mickleborough, director of engineering.
“It becomes less economical to haul here (from 200 kilometres away) as rates increase,” he added.
The total amount of garbage collected in the fourth quarter last year was 15,741.48 kg compared to 14,783.07 the year before.
Complaints received
The engineering department received 1,253 complaints from residents during the fourth quarter, for issues such as solid waste, roads, water, and sewer. By the end of the quarter, 80 issues were still outstanding while 1,173 complaints had been resolved, leading to a completion rate of 94 per cent.
Residents complained about garbage the most (411 issues), followed by water (260), roads (184), sewer (180) and other (127).
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 9.
