News Releases

The access roads and conditions at the City of Saskatoon snow storage sites are quickly deteriorating due to the warmer temperatures. The sites remain open, however they may need to be closed either temporarily or for the season.  The City of Saskatoon will provide as much notice as possible although it is dependent upon weather and ground conditions therefore they may close with little advance notice.  

The conditions are being monitored daily, although as the weather becomes warmer, it will become challenging for vehicles to enter and exit the sites.  

The snow storage sites are located at:
Central Avenue (3.8 km north of Attridge Drive)
Wanuskewin Road (1.4 km south of Highway 11)
McOrmond Drive (between 8th Street East and College Drive)
Valley Road (west of the Saskatoon Landfill access)

The City of Saskatoon thanks everyone for their cooperation.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

Since February 28, following a significant period of extreme cold temperatures, there have been 71 water main breaks in Saskatoon.  While they tend to be slightly above average at this time of year, this is still about seven times the average.  As of this afternoon, there are 23 water main breaks in our queue to repair.

City and contract crews continue to work long days to repair locations as quickly as possible, but affected residents can still expect to be without water service for four to seven days.  We are doing our best to accommodate everyone with temporary water in a day from when a water main break is reported.

Temporary Water
Water trailers will continue to be provided to affected areas, but there are not enough to supply all of the areas at this time.  To prevent longs waits for a water trailer to be delivered, we are providing the average recommended amount of drinking water for three days to each affected home.  Each day, two to three 19-litre (five-gallon) jugs of drinking water are delivered to new locations without water and to refill locations after three days.  These deliveries are provided through the water jug supplier and occur late afternoon and early evening. 

Once the repair is completed and water service is restored to locations where jugs of water were supplied, City staff will collect all of the jugs for sterilization and re-use.  To supply the large volume of homes with jugs of water, the supplier had to deplete their stock and we would like to minimize the cost where possible.  If you are not at home when our staff comes to your door, please call our customer service call centre to make arrangements for us to return.  We greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation in returning the re-usable water jugs.  

Residents who are without water due to a water main break are invited to use the shower facilities at the City Leisure Centre closest to them.  Please present identification or a recent utility bill with your address, so staff can provide free admittance.                                               

What is causing these water main breaks?

With the type and age of the city’s water and sewer infrastructure, water main breaks are a normal occurrence at any time of year.  When there is a change in temperature that affects ground conditions, such as extreme cold or extreme heat, the underground pipes can move.  Extra pressure on a weak point may cause it to break.  This is consistent with many communities across the country.  What is different this year is that the ground frost level has reached as deep as the underground pipes, almost three metres (ten feet)!  With warm temperatures, the frost is starting to come out of the ground, but it will take several weeks of the same heat to reach the deepest frost.  

Be prepared

Every home should have an emergency preparedness plan for any time of the year, not just for water outage.  Residents in areas where water main breaks have occurred in the past few years, including neighbourhoods adjacent to current water main breaks, are encouraged to be prepared by having extra drinking water stored as a precaution.  The recommended supply of water to have on hand for a 72-hour period is 3.8 litres (one gallon) per person or pet per day.  Emergency preparedness information is available on the Government of Canada’s public safety website getprepared.gc.ca, including further recommendations for an emergency water supply. 

Frozen water connections
Home owners are also reporting frozen water connections, where there is a blockage on the water connection from the City’s water main to the private home. If your water does not turn on, it may be an issue with the private portion of your water connection.  If there is an issue on the City portion, we will come out and use specialized equipment to thaw the line from your home.  Staff are experiencing a high number of frozen water connections, so they may not be able to inspect a location for up to 24 hours.  To help prevent this, we recommend making sure the pipes are well-insulated, including the portion at the outside walls of your home. 

Water service is currently off at the following locations:
- 612 Spadina Crescent East
- 602 4th Avenue North
- 2106 William Avenue (incl. Gladmer Park)
- 74 Bence Crescent
- 1537 Avenue G North
- 99 Howell Avenue
- 2116 14th Street East
- 53 Maxwell Crescent
- 114 Nesbitt Crescent
- 2702 Clinkskill Drive
- 37 Simpson Crescent
- 1415 Argyle Avenue
- 805 47th Street East
- Connaught Place & Idylwyld Drive North
- 57 Malcolm Place
- 127 Charlebois Crescent
- 156 St Lawrence Crescent
- 4138 DeGeer Street
- 1109 Osler Street
- 1238 Elliott Street
- 629 4th Street East
- 1023 Osler Street
- 1109 Taylor Street East

Current water main breaks are available on the City’s website.  This list is updated daily, including over the weekend.

We want to thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding.  If you are affected by a water outage and have any questions, or to report a water main break, please call the Public Works customer service call centre 24/7 at 306-975-2476.  Find out more about the Precautionary Drinking Water Advisory that is in effect when the water is turned back on.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook from the links at saskatoon.ca.

Public Skating and Parent and Tot Skating are wrapping up for the season at the City of Saskatoon indoor rinks.  Archibald, Cosmo, Lions, and Kinsmen Arenas will remain open for ice rental until Thursday, March 20, 2014.  ACT Arena will remain open throughout the Spring and Summer for ice rental only.  Please call the Allocations Office (located in Lawson Civic Centre) at 306-975-3366 for booking information.

Archibald Arena:  (1410 Windsor Street, 306-975-3313)
Sunday, March 16: Last day of Public Skating (12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 19:  Last day of Parent and Tot Skate (2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.)
Thursday, March 20:  Last day of operation

Cosmo Arena:  (3130 Laurier Drive, 306-975-3370)
Thursday, March 20: Last day of Public Skating (12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
Monday, March 17:  Last day of Parent and Tot Skate (2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.)
Thursday, March 20:  Last day of operation

Kinsmen Arena:  (1405 Avenue P South, 306-975-3310)
Thursday, March 20:  Last day of operation

Lions Arena:  (2205 McEown Avenue, 306-975-3306)
Sunday, March 16:  Last day of Public Skating (6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.)
Tuesday, March 18:  Last day of Parent and Tot Skate (2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.)
Thursday, March 20:  Last day of operation

ACT Arena:  (107 - 105th Street East, 306-975-3316)
Tuesday, March 25:  Last day of Tuesday evening Public Skating (7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.)
Thursday, March 27:  Last day of Parent and Tot Skating (2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.)
Sunday, April 13:  Last day of Sunday afternoon Public Skating (2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

Ice continues to be available for rent by calling Allocations at 306-975-3366

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.

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Over the next several days, City and contract crews will be out in full force grading streets by neighbourhood, clearing ruts and uncovering catch basins as a proactive approach to prepare for a smooth spring melt.  This will be an accelerated version of the January City-Wide Snow Grading program, when 16 neighbourhoods were graded until the extreme cold weather made it impossible to continue. 

Graders are in the following neighbourhoods today: College Park, College Park East, Confederation Park and Dundonald.  

City roadway inspectors have been monitoring streets throughout all areas of the city and, while there is little risk of deep ruts developing, the snow is thick enough on some streets to make it difficult for vehicles to maneuver.   

The timing is perfect for a full-force attack on streets that weren't yet graded this year.  The long-term forecast for warm weather will keep the snow and ice soft and easier to manage, plus graders will uncover accessible catch basins to improve drainage as the snow is melting.  This grading, along with the January grading performed on residential streets, will not only prevent dangerous ruts, it will speed up the drying process within the driving lanes.  

Grading snow from the driving lanes will also help reduce the standing water on the roadway which can seep into cracks in the asphalt and create potholes.  With less moisture on the roads, the potential for potholes is less. 

What about parking signs, vehicle towing and snow removal?
The short answer is: these will not occur.  In order to take full advantage of the warm weather and complete as many streets as soon as possible, we need to begin the program immediately.  The process of using the high-visibility yellow “No Parking” sandwich boards to reduce vehicles on the street will be abandoned during this accelerated program.  Graders will go around parked vehicles.  The snow will be pushed to the side of the road into windrows, keeping catch basins clear and maximizing on-street parking where possible.  Snow will not be removed and hauled away.  

Only select neighbourhoods will have parking enforcement over the next two days due the narrow streets, and dense on-street parking.  These are: Varsity View (Avenues) on Wednesday, March 12; and Mayfair (Avenues) on Thursday, March 13.  To avoid a ticket on these Avenues and being relocated, vehicles must be removed by 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled day where “No Parking” signs are posted. 

This winter, with some funding from the dedicated road levy, snow grading and removal efforts were increased along priority streets, in the business improvement districts, industrial areas, and narrow, high density residential streets.  These proactive snow management activities on Saskatoon streets this winter benefit us in more ways than one.  With less snow on our streets to melt during warm weather, there are fewer chances for ponding.  The snow piled into windrows will allow that snow to melt slowly, reducing the ponding around catch basins.  In addition, grading the snow into windrows will remove a lot of sand that would otherwise collect in the driving lanes of the streets.  This will also help to improve the spring street sweep program.  

During the accelerated snow grading, many other roadway programs will continue such as: regular salting/sanding as required; pothole patching with cold mix asphalt; snow grading on severely rutted streets; defrosting catch basins that are causing large puddles; maintenance of utility cuts (gravel areas) until permanent asphalt patching can occur; snow removal on high-traffic priority streets at night; and sidewalk/pathway snow clearing. 

City-Wide Snow Grading schedules and information is available on the website at www.saskatoon.ca/go/snow.  Follow our social media channels for updates.

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook from the links at saskatoon.ca.

A section of the walking path southwest of the site of the future Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan in River Landing will be closed on Thursday, March 13 until summer 2015 due to the Gallery construction.

The closure is necessary because the area is needed for temporary construction supports for the 3rd floor gallery building overhang and ground drilling equipment. The supports will create a platform for the structure steel and concrete, while it is being assembled and the concrete is curing. This will take at least six months. These supports will then be removed, but the fence will still remain for safety, as construction work continues in the area. (Click here for a map of the location).

Signs will be in place directing pedestrians and cyclists to alternate routes.

The MVA trail connections under the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge and River Landing remain open.  Access is also available along the Riverfront pathway.

Upcoming Closures:

- Starting in May, the walking path from 2nd Avenue/Spadina Crescent heading west will be closed until summer 2015.  This is to accommodate ground drilling, glazing, paneling, and deck materials that will be installed along south side of the Gallery. The equipment and staging materials require a safe space to operate.
- The west half of the 2nd Avenue/Spadina Crescent roundabout roadway directly adjacent to the Remai construction site will be temporarily closed intermittently throughout summer 2014.  

Announcements for these upcoming closures will be issued closer to the date, as the schedule is confirmed. 

The City thanks everyone for their patience and cooperation with these closures. 

For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases,  Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.