The City of Moose Jaw has yet to award the Tender for 2020 water main replacement. The City’s Engineering department is overseeing the project and there will be subcontractors performing specific tasks related to underground, roadway pavement and concrete work. City Public Works employees may also participate in these upgrades at different locations over time and with additional training.

The cost to replace cast iron watermain lines varies for each property and depends on several factors, including size of lot and level of service required (eg., water or sewer connections), size of pipe, roadway disturbed, construction method used, curb, sidewalk. Costs cover materials and labour to supply service connections, asphalt, pipe and gravel.

1. Moose Jaw’s cast iron water main replacement had been ignored for many decades.
2. Moose Jaw is behind most other communities in Saskatchewan – by nearly 20 years – in addressing and funding cast iron water main replacement.
3. The City of Moose Jaw needs to urgently address the replacement backlog and failing cast iron system to ensure that our City’s water distribution is healthy and sustainable for future generations.
4. The City of Moose Jaw has 80 km of cast iron water mains, with one third of the system being cast, which can be up to 110 years old. Over time and without appropriate action, the problem of cast iron water main pipe corrosion and deterioration has increased and now threatens the water safety and security of our community.
5. Cast iron water mains have typically averaged 40-50 breaks per year in Moose Jaw, with 116 breaks occurring in 2017 alone. Over the last few years, the City of Moose Jaw has spent about $2M annually on cast iron repairs alone.
6. Cast iron is the highest priority for infrastructure repairs and replacement in Moose Jaw’s immediate future.

The City of Moose Jaw wants to be proactive about correcting the aging water system due to potential health concerns. The City will also save on major costs of maintenance of aging infrastructure. City Council has opted to make the replacement of lead service mandatory along with no corrode sewer lines.

The City needs to do repairs in such a manner that it can provide the best assurance of safe, reliable service to everyone. In addition, the work is required to address water quality issues that have resulted in citizens, business and industry incurring costs for purification systems, among other costs. A repair is not always possible or is the best solution because the host pipe that the City is connecting to may be weak and needs replacing. This is one of the reasons the City’s costs to maintain the infrastructure have been rising so quickly. As the program is completed, the City will have a system that could serve the community for up to the next 70 years.