The number of water main breaks during this year’s second quarter fell by half compared to Q2 last year, while the total number of breaks has also declined by over half, data shows.
There were seven water main breaks between April 1 and June 30 of this year, compared to 16 breaks during the same period last year. Meanwhile, from Jan. 1 to June 30, there were 13 total water main breaks, compared to 37 during the same period last year.
Those were some highlights in a second-quarter report about the public works department’s activities that city council received during its Aug. 28 regular meeting as part of an overall report about city hall activities in Q2.
Sewer and water
The public works department treated 280.13 million imperial gallons of wastewater and pumped 323.08 million imperial gallons of treated water between April and June, the report showed.
In comparison, those numbers during the same period last year were 253.41 million imperial gallons and 298.03 million imperial gallons, respectively.
One imperial gallon is 4.5 litres.
Sanitation
The landfill received 19,587.38 tonnes of commercial, private and residential garbage during the second quarter, with 5,600 tonnes of sludge coming from the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant, according to the report.
In comparison, the landfill received 11,233.57 tonnes of refuse during Q2 2022.
Meanwhile, the city diverted 15.1 per cent of all materials to recycling versus 11.9 per cent in Q2 2022.
Recycling
The city took in 349,740 kilograms of bulk and curbside recycling in Q2, with 13,744 kilograms of bulk not allowed because of contamination from prohibited items, leaving 335,996 kilograms of allowed material, the report said.
In comparison, during the same period last year, those numbers were 342,740 kgs, 15,003 kgs and 327,737 kgs, respectively.
Service requests
The public works department received 2,371 service calls during the second quarter, with residents concerned most about streets and roads (1,282), garbage (497), water (228), and recycling (141).
Of the service calls received, the department resolved 2,220 issues and had 151 outstanding by the end of June, for a completion rate of 93.6 per cent.
Transit
From April 1 to the end of June, 42,938 people took regular transit throughout Moose Jaw, versus 36,997 riders during the same period last year, the report said.
Meanwhile, 8,565 people took paratransit during those three months, a decline from 8,959 riders — a drop of 4.4 per cent — during the same time in 2022.
Streets and roads
From Jan. 1 to June 30, the department completed the following projects:
- 2,339 potholes repaired
- 40 excavations/pavement failures, one dip filled, three manholes repaired and two catch basins repaired
- 153,757 metres (153.757 kilometres) of streets swept
- 18,086 metres (18 kilometres) of gravel roads and 29,579 metres (29.5 kilometres) of back lanes graded
- 120 crosswalks painted and 8,800 metres (8.8 kilometres) of white lane lines painted
“It’s really important for our citizens to report potholes that they come across,” said Coun. Crystal Froese, “because if they’re (repairs) not getting done (and) if they’re lingering there for a long amount of time … there’s no way necessarily for our city to know (what needs fixing). Because we don’t necessarily travel on every single street in the city.”
Froese then inquired about how many potholes city hall had repaired year-to-date, to which engineering director Bevan Harlton replied that public works crews had filled 5,325 potholes to Aug. 28.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 11.
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