'Gusher' of a leak spills water all over River Heights street for 3rd day
A puddle continues to grow Friday as water gushes out of the ground on Oak Street in front of Peggy Day's house in Winnipeg's River Heights neighbourhood.
Day said her husband first reported the leak to the city on Wednesday night. She and a neighbour reported it again Thursday morning, she said, but as of Friday morning, it was still spilling onto the concrete.
"There's water just pouring onto the road, literally going down the drain," she said.
"We're having this drought yet here's this gusher on the other side of the street and it hasn't been attended to yet."
Day is frustrated the city still hasn't fixed the leak more than 36 hours after her husband reported it to 311.
"Everything is going dry because there's no rain and yet all this water is just going down the drain, so it's very depressing," she said.
"I have no idea how much all this water is worth. It's thousands and thousands of dollars, I'm sure, given what my bill is."
A city spokesperson confirmed the leak was reported to the city on Aug. 15, but couldn't say when it might be fixed.
"Crews assessed the leak that evening and the water service was placed on reduced flow, which is common practice for a leak of this size," the spokesperson said in an email. "By reducing the flow, water loss is minimized while maintaining water supply to customers."
Leaks are placed in a queue according to their size, impact on customers, and when they were reported.
Shifting soil conditions due to the hot and dry weather have caused a higher-than-normal amount of water main breaks, the spokesperson said.
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