Work underway to find, repair wastewater siphon leak in Lethbridge’s river valley

City of Lethbridge crews and contractors have begun work to address a wastewater siphon leak in the river valley. (Courtesy: City of Lethbridge)

City of Lethbridge crews and contractors have begun work to address a wastewater siphon leak in the river valley.

“They have started mobilizing equipment today by accessing the site from Whoop-Up Drive,” said Leanne Lammertsen, water and wastewater operations manager with the City of Lethbridge.

“So, you’ll see a lane closure, and some pathways are impacted by their work.”

Lammertsen says a failure was found at the siphon, located at the bottom of the coulees near the University of Lethbridge on the evening of Jan. 8, with crews responding within an hour to contain the area.

“The night that we received the report of the leak, we immediately called Alberta Environment to report the situation, and they’ve been working closely with us in our efforts to make the repair and with the cleanup and mitigation,” said Lammertsen.

The city says a small amount of wastewater found near the siphon did not make it into the Oldman River.

It’s unknown when the leak began and if any wastewater entered the river before being detected.

“This particular piece of infrastructure carries wastewater from the westside north of Whoop-Up Drive, under the river to be treated at the wastewater plant,” said Lammertsen.

Crews are now inspecting the pipe to find where the leak is.

Once found, repair work will begin and is anticipated to be completed by Jan. 31.

“The siphon we’re talking about is actually three pipes,” said Lammertsen.

“One pipe has been closed, which is the one that we suspect has the leak on it. So, the other two pipes are still in operation.

“Services to westside residents have not been affected by this repair.”