Water main breaks ‘higher than normal’ over the holidays: City of Saskatoon

Water main breaks are causing headaches for people in Saskatoon.

According to a statement from the City of Saskatoon, crews had to respond to a “higher than normal number of water main breaks” over the holiday season. It’s due to the extreme cold Saskatoon faced.

Earlier this week, the city said it had six crews out working on breaks. On Tuesday, crews were actively working on four water main breaks.

“The extreme cold does place additional stress on the water system, ranging from longer dig times, to mechanical slowdowns, to the necessity for our crews and contractors to take breaks to warm up,” a statement from a city spokesperson read.

The city said it averaged five breaks per week in the month of December. That total is slightly below average for the typical December in Saskatoon.