A serious incident of vandalism occurred at a country residential development currently under construction in south Corman Park.
Significant damage to numerous spools of PVC waterline piping material that was in the process of being installed at the Edgemont East housing development was discovered late Thursday, May 16.
“Dozens, if not hundreds,” of very small holes had been drilled in the rolls of pipe, according to Darren Hagen, the developer of Edgemont East.
“It appears that someone took a power drill and used an extremely small drill bit,” said Hagen. “The holes are so tiny they’re hard to detect with the naked eye.”
Hagen said workers with Delta Construction noticed the holes when they were installing the piping material in the ground on May 16.
“The workers handling the pipe realized something was wrong,” said Hagen. “The pipe is supposed to be smooth as it comes off the spool, and they noticed there were some imperfections every so often. That set off a red flag, and they took a closer look at it.
“They discovered a pinhole, and then they started looking for others, and found many more.”
The contractor contacted the developer as soon as the holes were noticed. The RCMP was also notified of the damage on May 9.
Hagen said it is unknown just when the damage was done.
“The piping material has been at the site since last year,” he said. “We do have security cameras at the site, so those surveillance images will be invaluable in the police investigation.”
Hagen said the motive for the damage was not known, but he speculates it may have been to delay or disrupt the project.
“The intent was clearly to cause damage, and it certainly required planning and forethought,” he said. “This wasn’t random vandalism.
“It’s very disturbing for the entire Corman Park community. The public should be aware of this, and if they have any information that could help in the investigation, I’d encourage them to contact the police.”
Anyone with information can contact the Saskatoon RCMP at 306-975-5173 or Corman Park Police at 306-242-8808.
Hagen said some of the piping had already been laid in the ground prior to the discovery of the holes. Those sections of pipe will be pressure tested to determine if there was any damage.
“The pipe is nine feet underground,” said Hagen. “It can be tested using an air compressor. We pressure test everything anyway before it’s put in commission, but it was certainly good to find the damage before the installation was complete.”
Hagen noted that the damage is “hauntingly similar” to another incident in the same general area that occurred in 2001, when a waterline to the Deer Meadows country residential development was being laid along Clarence Avenue. It was discovered that holes had been drilled in that waterline. It is not known at this time if there is any connection between the two incidents.
Edgemont East reflects a growing trend toward higher-density country residential developments featuring smaller lot sizes.
The Edgemont East development has not been without controversy. The original rezoning and subdivision application for the first phase of the project was deferred by Corman Park Council in June, 2023. After changes were made by the developer to the application, it was subsequently approved by Corman Park Council in August, 2023.