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Friday, May 23, 2025

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A major water line break forced some temporary water restrictions within the Town of Neepawa over the May long weekend.

At 12:29 a.m. on Sunday, May 18, the Town issued a warning asking water customers to limit water usage.

Early Sunday morning, maintenance staff reported that there had been two major breaks in the water intake line. One of the breaks was just south of the Water Treatment Plant and a second break was in the west ditch of Hwy. 5 near the Lily Nook.

Apparently, the violent winds on Friday, May 16, damaged the antenna at the Town well, which transmits signals from the pump to the plant. Instead of running and shutting off on demand, the pump kept running, not shutting off as it normally does and kept building up pressure causing the two line breaks.

Then overnight, work crews repaired the line at the plant and by midmorning on Sunday were fixing the line at the Hwy. 5 location.

Staff said there was sufficient water in the plant to keep the system operating at reduced water usage rates and the

system was back up and running by mid-day on Sunday.

In the aftermath of the break in the Neepawa water inlet break, Town of Neepawa CAO Colleen Synchynshyn said, “A lot of people worked through the night to get the water service restored. We contacted HyLife and the R.M.s to restrict water usage as much as possible and people really stepped up to save water so we didn’t run out of potable water at the treatment plant.”

The Town contacted Emergency Measures Organization (EMO) and the Drinking Water Commissioner in case water would have to be hauled in. Synchynshyn said, “We were able to fend off a disaster. People really stepped up to reduce water usage.” Had the plant run out of water and not been able to keep pressure in the lines, then there was a potential for contamination getting into the lines and a boil water order would have had to be put in place. Synchynshyn said, “We breathed a big sigh of relief at 5:00 p.m. Sunday when we were able to confirm that the line repairs held and water started coming into the plant.”