Fewer water main breaks not a reason for optimism yet, city manager says

While there were fewer water main breaks during the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same time in 2019, the city manager is offering a cautious tone of how the rest of the year could unfold.

The engineering department recorded 12 water main breaks from January to March this year, compared to 34 during the same time last year, city manager Jim Puffalt told city council recently while discussing city hall’s first-quarter activities.

“It’s been a really good year so far. (However), we caution you not to get too optimistic,” he added. “In 2016, we had 16 water breaks (in the first quarter) and finished with 85.”

The department diverted staff from a second utility crew, which allowed it to add a second construction crew to focus on patching potholes this spring and summer, said Puffalt. It took a while to get the second construction crew trained and established, and now that it is, the department does not want to lose this crew that it created.

The engineering department took in 334,950 kilograms of recyclable materials during Q1 of this year, of which 326,799 was allowable under the recycling rules. In comparison, during the same time last year, the department collected 351,651 kgs, of which 340,835 kgs were allowable.

From January to March of this year, the department pumped 1.03 billion litres (228.18 million imperial gallons) of treated water, compared to 1.14 billion litres (251.41 million imperial gallons) during Q1 2019. Meanwhile, the amount of wastewater that the municipality treated during the first quarter of 2020 was 988.8 million litres (217.8 million imperial gallons) compared to one billion litres (222.02 million imperial gallons) during the same in 2019.

For reference, an Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 2.5 million litres of water.

Municipal sanitation workers collected 6,914.32 kilograms of residential, private and commercial refuse during the first three months of this year, compared to 6,272.94 kilograms of refuse during the same time last year.

Bus ridership numbers strong during the first three months of this year compared to the same time last year. The coronavirus pandemic did not strike until midMarch, which then caused ridership numbers to shrink by more than 90 per cent. Those numbers, though, will be reported in the second quarter report sent to council in the next couple of months.

From January to March, 80,144 residents rode the bus in Moose Jaw, compared to 79,918 riders during the same time last year. This represents an increase of 226 riders. Meanwhile, 7,217 residents rode special needs transit during Q1 of 2020, compared to 8,521 in Q1 2019. The next regular council meeting is Monday, June 15.