Bitter cold bursts Winnipeg water pipes

The cold weather in Winnipeg has city workers dealing with more water main breaks than usual for this time of year.

Normally, Winnipeg sees two or three water main breaks per day at this time of year but more pipes are bursting this year.

"Temperatures have been cold for a while and the frost has penetrated a little bit more deeply into the ground, and we're seeing a slight increase to about five water main breaks per day right now that need to be addressed," said city spokesman Ken Allen.

The cold weather also makes it more difficult for crews to repair the pipes once they burst, because workers must hammer through two metres of frozen ground to get to the problem.

As a result, it can take a day or two to fix each break. Some homes and buildings are temporarily without water while the work is carried out.

On Monday, city crews were working on breaks on Windermere Bay, Beaverbrook Street and Morley Avenue.

The northbound curb lane on Osborne Street at Stradbrook Avenue will be closed on Tuesday at 9 a.m. so a break in that area can be repaired.

The lane will remain closed until the repair is complete, officials said Monday.

Winnipeg's system has about2,400 kilometres of water mains, about 10 per cent installed before 1920. It costs about $4,000 to repair the average break.