An unauthorized late-night opening of two fire hydrants near Winnipeg’s Harry Lazarenko Bridge led a combined sewer outfall to overflow into the Red River, city officials reported.
The February 23 incident resulted in an estimated 30,000 litres of sewage spilling into the river over a period of approximately 21 minutes, according to a city report.
The culprits in the unauthorized use of the fire hydrants, which occurred around 3 a.m., were not apprehended.
In a statement, local officials said such hydrant tampering incidents are rare.
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“We do not know the identity of the person(s) that opened the hydrants, or why they did it, and are therefore … unable to pursue a penalty under the City’s Water By-law,” the statement said.
A City of Winnipeg water services crew was called to shut off the water to the hydrants. At 5:25 a.m., the remaining wastewater was pumped out and the lift station resumed normal operations, according to a city report.
The sewage overflow incident comes just weeks after City of Winnipeg officials were charged by the province for the 2024 raw sewage spill of about 230 million litres that flowed into the Red River for more than two weeks.
The province has previously charged the city with three counts of violating its Environment Act licence in 2011, after a malfunction at the South End Sewage Treatment Plant. In that instance, partially-treated wastewater flowed into the Red River over seven weeks. In a plea agreement, the city was asked to pay $10,000 in court costs.
