Power Outages Lead To Busy Weeks For City Crews

 The city of Portage la Prairie's public works crews have had a busy few weeks, thanks to recent power outages. They're currently working to replace a leaking valve on Saskatchewan Avenue West, near Eighth Street North West, an issue discovered while staff repaired a water main break in the area on Sunday. Similar work also took place last week near Third Street North East and Saskatchewan Avenue.

While water main breaks are often seen in the spring due to temperature changes and shifting ground, Public Works Manager Brian Taylor says they've been dealing with an influx in breaks over the last few weeks. He says these latest issues were likely caused by the power outages seen in recent weeks.

"The pumps shut down from the plant, and if they don't cut in properly or what not, when they turn on they give you a surge of water. You're always trying to be careful or what not, but you never know what could happen."

He says they've seen about five or six water main breaks over the last two weeks, which have also resulted in the two recent valve replacements. Taylor anticipates the current project could be wrapped up before the end of the day.