Repair work aimed at fixing a partial blockage in a force-main sewer pipeline is not likely to negatively impact nearby residents or businesses in the southeast part of Martensville, according to Matt Gruza, the city’s Director of Infrastructure and Planning.
Martensville City Council passed a resolution at a meeting on Tuesday, June 1 to allocate funds from the municipality’s water and sewer reserve to cover the cost of the repair. The project, estimated to cost about $113,000, was not included in the city’s 2021 budget.
Gruza said the blockage is located somewhere in the pipeline that connects Sewage Pumping Station #3 at the corner of 9th Avenue South and Columbia Way, and the city’s lagoon.
Most of the pipeline’s length is under the city’s dog park. In the residential section, the pipeline is below the street itself. If any excavation is needed to get the source of the blockage, it should not affect residents or businesses.
Gruza noted the flow from the pumping station has been gradually declining, and has reached the point where it is now only 25% of the pipe’s capacity.
In an effort to determine the source of the problem, tests were conducted on the pumping station equipment. Engineers with Catterall and Wright determined the pumps, controls and other equipment at the pumping station are working properly. They concluded after further tests that the force main pipeline contained a blockage. However, the exact location and nature of the obstruction is still undetermined.
Gruza said the blockage could be the result of a crushed pipe, a mass of so-called ‘flushable wipes’ that tend to get wrapped around each other and form a ball, or some other foreign object.
“Unfortunately, due to the nature of this force-main, there is no easy way to pinpoint the exact location of this blockage,” said Gruza. “Catterall and Wright proposed a method of excavating the force-main at strategic locations to camera inspect for the source of the restriction.”
The engineering firm estimated three digs may be necessary. Invitations to bid were issued to two qualified contractors. Council voted at its June 1 meeting to award the contract to the lowest bid, DC Trenching.
Council chose to have the work done this summer in order to avoid potential flooding and damage to city infrastructure.