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This article was published 20/1/2016 (1702 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City hall could be fined or reprimanded after five million litres of raw, untreated sewage was dumped into the Red River over a nine-day period.

A resident is being credited with alerting the city to the flow of sewage, which occurred at a sewage outflow pipe adjacent to St. John’s Park, north of Redwood Avenue.

Craig Tulloch, whose home on Glenwood Crescent backs onto the river opposite the park, said he noticed open water near the outflow pipe Saturday morning.

Tulloch said he believed it was strange to see open water when the rest of the river was frozen, so he took a look.

"We could see warm water with a brown film on it," Tulloch said.

He said he returned Tuesday morning and couldn’t believe what he found.

"The smell was so strong, it almost knocked me over."

Tulloch said he called 311 Tuesday morning to report the problem.

City officials confirmed it was the 311 call that first made them aware of a potential problem.

A civic spokeswoman said crews went to the area Tuesday morning and discovered the sewer line leading to a diversion station had been partially blocked with construction planks.

"Under normal operation, this diversion station will direct flow to the treatment facility," the spokeswoman said. "In this case, not all flow was directed to the treatment facility and subsequently was discharged to the river."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Culvert that opens into the Red River at St. John's Park on Main Street and Mountain Avenue.

The spokeswoman said on Tuesday city officials were uncertain how much sewage had been discharged into the river but the city reported on its website Wednesday the amount was estimated at five million litres — enough to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools — had flowed into the river beginning Jan. 10.

The diversion station is located at St. John’s Avenue and Main Street.

The spokeswoman said it’s not known how the construction planks found their way into the sewer line or where they came from.

The sewer line is egg-shaped, 202.5 centimetres (80 inches) by 162.5 centimetres (64 inches) in size. The planks were blocking an intake opening of 60 centimetres (24 inches).

A city spokeswoman said the water and waste department is confident the blockage began on Jan. 10, based on data received from new instrumentation recently installed at the location.

However, a resident who lives near St. John’s Park said city crews had been working at the diversion station on or around Jan. 10.

"Several city crews were working on that diversion station," said Adam Praznik, who lives on Anderson Avenue, between the park and St. John’s cemetery. "They had many trucks over there, including pumping trucks, and had plowed out a path for them to get to it."

Praznik said he didn’t know the nature of the work the city crews were doing but added there had been a strong sewer gas smell coming from a manhole on St. John’s for several months.

"If I were to speculate, the city crews probably covered (the intake opening to the diversion station) and then forgot to uncover it."

City officials have not explained why they were not aware of the unintentional discharge at any point between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19.

A spokesman with Manitoba Conservation said the city has reported the incident and provincial staff are enquiring further as to how it happened.

"We are following up with the city, and part of that investigation will be a review of whether or not some sort of fine, penalty or sanction is warranted," the Manitoba Conservation spokesman said. "The investigation will focus on the incident and whether there were any breaches to (the City of Winnipeg) Environment Licence."

Tulloch said he is pleased to know his tip alerted the city and stopped the flow of untreated sewage into the river.

The city’s underground sewage system, which combines the flow of storm water and sewage through the same lines, provides for the discharge of untreated sewage into the Red River from most of its older neighbourhoods during times of intense rainfall.

Sewage discharges because of heavy rains happen about 22 times a year, usually between May and September. The city has a long-term plan to separate its sewage and storm water lines at a price tag of about $1 billion.

It’s not known what, if any, remedial measures the province is requiring the city to take to protect aquatic life in the Red River. When unplanned sewage discharges occurred in the past, the province relied on the river’s current to dilute the sewage.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca