Work planned for Yellowknife neighbourhood that's experiencing regular water main breaks

The City of Yellowknife is scheduling work this summer in a neighbourhood that has been experiencing repeated water main leaks and deteriorating road conditions.

Chris Greencorn, the city's director of public works, said city staff have been planning the workthrough winter and information letters will be distributed to residents of the neighbourhood between Old Town and Niven on Tuesday.

Greencorn explained the city recorded some underground video to understand what the issue was. What was found was that the sewer mains were in good condition, but the shifting ground was moving homes and disconnecting the "individual services,"such as pipes, that connect the mainsto homes.

"Our inspections of the mains indicate that the mains are not an issue. So that's good news and that allows us to do [the work]much faster," he said.

"If we got some bad video back from those inspections and the mains were all over the place and had dips and sags, that would have caused a lot more concern because we would have had to undergo engineer drawings that would have taken the better part of a couple years to even get out of the ground."

Greencorn said the planis to dig underneath and replace the private pipes and other materials that connect to the mains,to prevent further leaking. He says it's about being proactive.

He said there are also future plans to replacetheroad itself in the 49AAvenue area, andthere's upcoming paving on Franklin Avenue and the pump station at the bottom of the hill.

"We didn't want to impact the 49A Avenue neighbourhood with five or six years of steady construction or detours through their neighbourhood," he said.

"There's a lot of work coming in that part of town in the next three to five years."

Leaks affecting property

The area has been experiencing repeated water line leaks since February and a large puddle has currentlyflooded out 41 Street,at the bottom of the hill.

Heather Dolan lives on 41 Street, nearto where the water pools.

"My car got damaged, water flooded right up into the inside of the car," she wrote in an email to CBC News.

"There was about a foot of ice in our warehouse so we lost a great deal of stuff. I can't even get into my warehouse to see the extent of damaged goods but it's a lot."

Jason Greene, who also lives in the area, said the area has been dealing with constantly deteriorating roads.

"It keeps heaving like there's no tomorrow," he said.

The road that leads into Greene's driveway was completely level when he moved there over 10 years ago, but now it's a steep hill showing the extent of the slumping.

Greene credited the city workers who were responding to the repeated leaks, but also said he wanted a long-term plan to deal with the situation.

Likely from melting ice in permafrost

As for what's causing the shifting ground and the leaking water lines, Greencorn saidhe doesn't know for sure.He saidwhatever it is, it'sconnected to the sinking that can be noticed on Franklin Avenue, aroad that requires work every decade or so.

He said there's a longstanding story of an underground river or spring that is causing the sinking ground, but he's never come across it. He says the shifting is more likely caused by melting ice within the permafrost.

Greencorn said he understands the stress residents are experiencing around water disrupting their property.

"There's no more amount of stress even in my own personal life than having water in your home where it shouldn't be, whether it's coming through your ceiling or in your basement. So I can, I appreciate how much stress that causes," he said.

He adds there are things the City of Yellowknife offers that can help people in this situation, including the service connection failure assistance plan. This offers a $1,000 deposit to residents experiencing service pipe failure located between the customer's building and the city water mains.

Greencorn also recommends people have a sump in their home and a sump pump ready as it can help prevent flood damage.

"If you have the capability in your home to install a sump pump," he said.

"We highly recommend that, you're welcome to pump that out to the street during the spring of the year. Lots of areas do it."