REGINA - Recent storms have led to an emergent situation where an underground stormwater pipe has collapsed, causing a sinkhole to erupt on a Regina property.
The situation is being dealt with immediately with a temporary bypass of stormwater service to be put in place, and that will last for the rest of the 2023 season. A portion of Wascana Park is going to be dug up to make room for the bypass.
Kurtis Doney, Acting Director of Citizen Services, told reporters that in the wake of the recent rain events, the City had received a report of a sinkhole that developed in the backyard of one of the residences near the Albert Street Memorial Bridge.
After even more rainfall, he said that sinkhole expanded in size and it has been determined that the cause is a collapsed stormwater pipe.
The stormwater pipe itself is larger than Doney is tall, he said — over six feet in diameter. It was put in in 1948 and provides service to a large area from Albert Street to Winnipeg Street, and from College Avenue to Victoria Avenue.
“As you can imagine, it is a significant emergency operation that is about to take place. We’ve engaged experts throughout Regina, including Clifton Associates to help us with the geotechnical work that needs to occur, and to design the stormwater service that will be in place for the rest of the 2023 season."
The temporary bypass will be located around the “speakers corner” area of Wascana Park just north of the lake. Doney said the bypass will pump the storm water from the underground pipe and into Wascana Lake. It will feature nine large stormwater pumps, which will be activated to run only during rainstorm events to ensure the rainwater gets to Wascana Creek.
Those residents in the area will notice the work starting this week to put the bypass in place. Doney said that in order to safely mobilize the equipment, there will be some tree removals and lightstands in the area. The area will be restored with the planting of new trees when the operation is complete.
Over the next several days, site preparation will occur, with construction starting later in the week. The ground will be turned into a very large trench and it will be fenced off, and this is where the bypass system will be put in place.
As of Tuesday the general area is covered in green and red markings to ensure the site is ready for excavations; the green markings are used to mark the locations of the stormwater system.
Work on a permanent system will commence once they are comfortable that the temporary stormwater system is in place. Doney indicated a longer-term solution will involve extensive rerouting of the existing stormwater pipe.
The city had been responding to this emergency situation over the past week. The issue with the sinkhole was first identified when the storms occurred in early June, said Doney.
“The sinkhole was sandbagged, which was critical to ensure the stormwater still was maintained within the pipe and made its way to Wascana Creek. In addition, the sinkhole has been fenced to ensure that residents do not access the area and to protect the health and safety of the residents.”
The precise location of the sinkhole is not being released, to protect the privacy of residents.
Setting up the bypass is an emergency operation, and Doney said they were still dealing with details on exactly what’s going to occur. The bypass materials will come from western Canada and there are significant costs involved.
The bypass pumping is estimated to be around $200-to-$300,000, but “that is just the beginning as we develop the long-term solution.” The funding for dealing with emergency will come out of the city’s utility reserve and utility budget. If more money is required they will make a request to council.
To avoid this sort of situation happening again, Doney said it was “important we invest in infrastructure including stormwater upgrades, so we need to inspect and rely and upgrade that stormwater system. So we’re thankful the rain has slowed over the last week, but it’s very important that the stormwater bypass gets in place before we have the next rainstorm event.”
There are some closures expected on Albert Street during the time the very large pumps are loaded into the area. Those details are being worked on and will be communicated to the public.
