Reports on untreated sewage

• At 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, 2015 an overflow alarm from the Metcalfe Wastewater Pumping Station was received at our McPhillips Control Centre.
• Crews arrived on-site and closed the positive gate at approximately 12:45 a.m. to prevent further discharge of into the Red River.
• Crews determined that there had been a water main break on Braemar Avenue. The break was contributed water to the combined sewer system and exceeded the pumping capacity of the Metcalfe Station.
• The water main break was isolated and our crews re-opened the gate at approximately 5:00 a.m. when the Metcalfe Station was back to normal operation.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Sunday, December 6, 2015.

• On Tuesday October 27, 2015 at approximately 6:26 p.m., the McPhillips Control Centre received a power fail alarm at the St. Norbert Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred on October 27 at 6:26 p.m.
• At 6:32 p.m. we received an overflow alarm at the station. A crew closed the positive gate to prevent further discharge around 6:55 p.m. 0.02 megalitres of raw sewage was discharged into the Red River as a result of this power failure.
• A mobile generator was connected and the station was again operational by 8:36 p.m. Manitoba Hydro restored power at 9:07 p.m. The positive gate was re-opened at approximately 9:33 p.m. and the station was back to normal operation.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Tuesday, October 27, 2015.

• On Monday, October 12, 2015 at approximately 9:07 AM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the St. Norbert Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred.
• A crew attended the station at approximately 10:40 AM with a mobile standby generator to get power the station to prevent further discharge. The positive gate was not closed as the weather was unfavorable and it was raining at the time. The mobile generator was connected and the station was again operational by 11:05 AM.
• Subsequently, raw wastewater discharged to the Red River from approximately 9:07 AM to 11:05 AM. Manitoba Hydro restored power at 2:20 PM and the station was back to normal operation.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Monday, October 12, 2015.

• At 10:00 a.m., during a maintenance inspection of the combined sewer weir manhole at Fleming Ave and Louelda St., a City crew discovered a blockage causing raw wastewater to spill over the weir and into the 750 mm storm relief sewer.
• Upon discovering the overflow at Fleming and Louelda, the crew immediately made arrangements to have the blockage cleared. The crew proceeded to the Roland Flood Station and closed the outfall sluice gate at 12:35. The blockage was fully cleared at 14:45 and the sluice gate was re-opened at 15:30.
• The total amount of raw wastewater discharged to the Red River as a result of the overflow is unknown.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.

• At approximately 5:43 AM, the McPhillips Control Centre received pump fail alarm at the Dumulin Lift Station.
• A crew attended the station at approximately 6:30 AM and found the station had flooded to the motor floor level however both pumps were found to be running. By 8:30 AM the water was pumped out and the cause of the flooding was determined to be a leaking pump seal. Pump #1 had to be taken off line for servicing at this time and was put back in service at 8:00 PM to draw down the system and then again taken off-line for repairs once the overflow event had stopped.
• Due to the rain event occurring September 4th the Dumulin combined system remained surcharged and overflowing for most of the day. Normal operation of the station is for both pumps to be running during overflow events.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Monday, September 8, 2015.

• On Sunday August 23, 2015 at approximately 9:05 AM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the St. Norbert Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred. A crew attended the station and arrived on site at roughly 10:00 AM. The crew decided not to close the positive gate in order to prevent basement flooding and requested mobile generator. 
• By the time the mobile generator was on site and being set up (1:20 PM), hydro was restored and the generator was sent back to the McPhillips Control Centre. By 1:40 PM, the station experienced another loss of power and the crew immediately requested that the mobile generator be returned. At approximately 4:51 PM, the mobile generator was connected to provide temporary power to the station.
• Note: due to the significant rainfall event that occurred, our crews were responding to numerous other high priority alarms. Subsequently, raw sewage discharged to the Red River from approximately 9:03 AM to 1:20 PM and 1:40 PM to 4:51 PM. Manitoba Hydro restored power at approximately 8:57 PM.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Sunday, August 23, 2015.

• On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at approximately 1:39 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm from the Tylehurst Lift Station indicating a power failure. A crew arrived at the station by 2:00 PM and by 2:46 PM, a mobile generator was connected to provide temporary power to the station.
• In addition, a significant rainfall was occurring and the crew determined not to operate the positive gate to contain the overflow due to the risk of basement flooding. Manitoba Hydro restored power to the station by approximately 3:43 PM.
• At the time of the power failure, our instrumentation indicated that an overflow was already occurring at 12:42 PM due to a significant rain event that day. The total amount of the overflow as a result of the power failure is approximately 1.35 megalitres. The total amount of overflow that occurred due to the rain event has not been determined but will be reported on in the quarterly CSO report.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Wednesday, August 12, 2015.

• On Friday, August 7, 2015 at approximately 4:41 PM, McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the Aubrey Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred. A crew attended the station at approximately 4:55 PM, with a mobile generator, and proceeded to close the positive gate.
• A rainfall event was occurring and diluted sewage discharged to the Assiniboine River from approximately 5:00 PM to 5:50 PM at which time the positive gate was fully closed.
• A mobile generator was connected and the station was again operational by 6:26 PM. Manitoba Hydro restored power at 6:50 PM. The positive gate was re-opened at approximately 8:45 PM and the station was at normal operation.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Friday, August 7, 2015.

• On Thursday, July 30, 2015 at approximately 3:26 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the St. Norbert Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred. At approximately 4:18PM a crew arrived and closed the positive gate to prevent further discharge. However, sewage continued to increase in the sewer pipe system, and at approximately 5:34 PM the crew opened the positive gate and allowed a small discharge to the river to prevent sewer back-up.
• A mobile generator was connected and the station was again operational by 5:54 PM at which time the crew closed the positive gate stopping any further release of sewage. Manitoba Hydro restored power at 6:30 PM. The positive gate was re-opened at approximately 7:25 PM and the station was at normal operation.

• On Thursday July 23, 2015 at approximately 9:45 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received a high communitor alarm at our Ferry Road station as a result of a significant rain event that night. A standby crew was dispatched and determined flow to the station was exceeding the pumping capacity of both pumps and sewage levels were approaching our critical elevation at the station. The crew proceeded to open the by-pass valve by redirecting a portion of the flow to the Assiniboine River to reduce the risk of station flooding.
• The discharge continued until approximately 8:20 AM on July 24, 2015, at which time the by-pass valve was closed. Subsequently, diluted sewage discharged intermittently to the Assiniboine River from approximately 2:37 AM to 8:20 AM on July 24, 2015.

• At approximately 8:15PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the Montcalm Lift Station indicating that the pump control system had malfunctioned.  A crew attended the station and the pumps were back online by 10:00PM.
• As there was a significant rainfall occurring, crews decided not to operate the positive gate to contain the overflow due to the risk of basement flooding.
• Crews are still investigating the cause the of the malfunction and will closely monitor until permanently corrected.

• At approximately 8:00 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the Hawthorne Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred. A crew attended the station and power was restored at 8:45 PM.
• As there was a significant rainfall occurring, the crew decided not to operate the positive gate to contain the overflow due to the risk of basement flooding.

June 23

Hawthorne Combined Sewer Outfall at 1178A Kildonan Drive

0.05 megalitres

45 minutes

Unknown

• At approximately 11:05 AM, the McPhillips Control Centre noticed extraneous flow at the Hawthorne Lift Station. A crew was dispatched immediately.
• At 11:06 AM, the high wet well alarm at Hawthorne Lift Station was received at McPhillips Control Centre.  At 11:08 the flap gate was open.
• When the crew arrived at the station, they closed the positive gate, which was fully closed by 11:50AM to prevent further discharge.
• The cause of the overflow is still under investigation.

• At approximately 4:45 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm that the Montcalm Lift Station pump control system had malfunctioned.
• The Montcalm Station services both the Roland and Mission Combined Sewer Districts.
• A crew attended the station and operated the pumps manually by 5:10pm.   
• Crews are still investigating the cause of the malfunction and will continue to closely monitor until permanently corrected.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Sunday June 7, 2015.

• At approximately 5:18 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm that the Linden Lift Station had a loss of power.
• A standby crew was dispatched and a mobile generator was hooked up. The station was operational by 7:13 PM. Power was fully restored at 7:45 PM.
• Due to the power failure and significant rain event at that time, it was decided that the positive gate to contain the overflow would not operate due to the risk of basement flooding.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Sunday June 7, 2015.

• At approximately 12:16 PM, the McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm that the Woodhaven Lift Station had a loss of power.
• A standby crew was dispatched and a mobile generator was hooked up. The station was operational by 2:07 PM. Power was fully restored at 4:21 PM.
• Due to the power failure and significant rain event that day, an approximate duration and volume cannot be determined.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Sunday May 17, 2015.

• At approximately 2:57 PM, the  McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the Mager Drive Lift Station indicating that a loss of power had occurred. A crew attended and determined that a widespread power outage was the cause.
• A significant rainfall was occurring and the crew decided not to operate the positive gate to contain the overflow due to the risk of basement flooding.
• Power was restored at 5:47 PM. 
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line on Sunday May 17, 2015.

• At approximately 6:18 PM, the  McPhillips Control Centre received an alarm at the Montcalm Lift Station indicating that all four pumps had failed. A widespread hydro power outage caused the lift station to lose power.
• A standby crew already in the field was notified immediately and responded. Power to the station was restored by 6:48 PM and flow to the river stopped at 6:51 PM.
• The incident was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line and Environment Canada on Wednesday May 6, 2015.

• Responding to a report of an "Illegal Chemical Disposal to Sewer" complaint, a crew observed what appeared to be a sludge type substance on the boulevard and roadway near Eagle Drive and Oak Point Highway.
• The crew determined the sewer was blocked and they cleared a series of blockages between Oak Point Highway at Eagle Drive.
• The crew did observe evidence of one or more sewer overflow occurrences that happened before they arrived. They determined that the wastewater sewer overflowed up the manhole, onto the boulevard and roadway, then into the catch basin leading to the land drainage sewer.
• The spill was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line and Environment Canada on Friday May 1, 2015.

• McPhillips Control Centre received power failure alarms at multiple locations in the north and eastern parts of the city at 9:47 p.m. on March 24.
• A standby crew, on-site at the Riverbend lift station by 10:15 p.m. had a backup generator operational by 11:15 p.m., reducing the flow of diluted sewage to the Assiniboine River.
• The discharge, which began at 11:00 p.m., continued until Manitoba Hydro restored power at approximately 1:30 a.m.
• The spill was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line and Environment Canada on March 25, 2015.

• At 9:58 p.m. on March 6, McPhillips Control Centre received power failure alarms at multiple locations in north Winnipeg.
• According to Manitoba Hydro, a hydro pole fire caused the power failure.
• A standby crew, onsite by about 10:20 p.m. with a backup generator and temporary pumping equipment, were unsuccessful at closing the positive gate due to an inoperable gate under maintenance repairs.
• The backup generator was operational by about 11:40 p.m. and the pumps were functional by about midnight.
• Raw sewage discharged to the Red River from approximately 11:00 p.m. to midnight.
• Manitoba Hydro restored power at approximately 2:30 a.m.
• The spill was reported to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line and Environment Canada on Monday, March 6, 2015.

• At approximately 6:45 a.m. on March 2, McPhillips Control Centre received a high wet well alarm from the Hawthorne station.
• A standby crew, on-site by 7:05 a.m., determined flow to the station was exceeding the capacity of both pumps and closed the outfall pipe gate to prevent further flow from entering the Red River. Due to ice buildup, the sluice gate was not completely closed until approximately 7:50 a.m.
• It was determined that a fire hydrant had failed or was hit by a vehicle at 569 Oakland Avenue, causing a leak and allowing excessive flow to enter the catch basin to the combined sewer, and diluted sewage was flowing to the Red River from approximately 6:45 a.m. to 7:50 a.m.
• The water main to the hydrant was put on reduced pressure and the high wet well alarm from the Hawthorne station cleared at 8:16 a.m.
• The sluice gate was reopened at approximately 10:10 a.m.
• The spill was reported to the Harbour Master, and to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line and Environment Canada on Monday, March 2, 2015.

• At 12:46 a.m. on Feb. 24, the McPhillips Control Centre received an overflow alarm at the Hawthorne station.
• Our Control Centre was notified of a water main break on Sharon Bay between Rothesay Street and Rosewell Place.
• The standby crew, on-site by 1:00 a.m. were unable to close the positive gate completely due to ice build-up on the gate.
• As a result, the increased flow from the water main break exceeded the capacity of both pumps at the station and diluted sewage discharged to the Red River from about 12:46 a.m. to 2:05 a.m.
• The water main break was controlled and the overflow alarm from the Hawthorne station cleared at 2:09 a.m.
• The positive gate was reopened at about 2:15 a.m.
• The incident was reported to the Harbour Master, and to Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting line and Environment Canada on Tuesday February 24, 2015.

• During a maintenance inspection of the weir manhole at Inkster Boulevard and Main Street, a crew discovered raw sewage spilling over the weir and flowing into the storm relief sewer at 4:30 p.m.
• The crew found and cleared a blockage in the combined sewer south of the intersection of Inkster Boulevard and Main Street by 5:30 p.m.
• The incident was reported to the Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada on Saturday, February 14, 2015.

• On Feb. 11 at about 10:00 p.m., McPhillips Control Centre was notified by department staff of a large water main leak on Arlington Street between Ellice and Sargent Avenue.
• A standby crew was dispatched to the Cornish station and had the positive gate closed by 10:52 p.m.
• Due to the water main break, the flow exceeded the capacity of both pumps at the station and at 10:05 p.m. our Control Centre received an overflow alarm from our Cornish station.
• Instruments show that at 10:36 p.m. the flow began discharging to the Assiniboine River.
• The water main break was shut off at approximately 10:50 p.m. The overflow alarm from the Cornish station cleared at 2:46 a.m. and the positive gate was reopened at approximately 3:00 a.m.
• The incident was reported to the Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada on Feb 12.

• At 9:40 a.m. on Feb.10, a crew performing regular maintenance inspections observed that the combined sewer in front of 500 Stradbrook Avenue was partially blocked and overflowing to the storm relief sewer at the same location. It is uncertain if there was any discharge to the Assiniboine River.
• A crew arrived onsite at 11:00 am and cleared the blockage.
• The incident was reported to the Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada on Feb. 12.

• On Friday January 9, at 11:15 a.m. during routine inspections of the weir manhole at Pacific Avenue and Ellen Street, crews discovered raw sewage trickling over the weir on the combined sewer and flowing through the McDermot Avenue storm relief sewer and into the Red River.
• Crews determined that there was a blockage in the combined sewer north of the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Ellen Street, and had it cleared by 1:35 p.m.
• The incident was reported to the Manitoba Conservation Accident Reporting Line and Environment Canada on Monday, January 12, 2015.