All City of Yellowknife Public Works Crews were called to a scene 8:30 a.m. Monday following a burst pipe at 8:30 on Kam Lake Road. In a tweet Tuesday morning, the City of Yellowknife stated the road was re-opened at approximately 12:30 a.m. and no cause for the incident has been determined.
The pipe, which travels from the Station 5 sewage facility to the Lagoon Wetland Treatment Centre, burst and has the potential to spread but City of Yellowknife Water and Sewer Divison superintendent Scott Gillard said there is no threat of contamination.
“We still don't know what happened and won't know until we get the pipe dug out,” said Gillard. “It could be the ground shifting; It could be a failed connector-joint.”
Gillard said crews are containing the spill because there is potential for property damage down-stream.
He noted pipe-bursts in Yellowknife are not common noting he has only seen five since he started as superintendent and reiterated if sewage were to spill into Kam Lake there would be no danger to the public.
“If it gets into the stream it will dissipate because it is only human excrement,” said Gillard.