Saskatoon residents want better communication on pipeline project

Residents of Saskatoon’s Silverwood Heights neighbourhood say their sleep has become a “number-two” priority as they with the noise from a 24/7 construction project.

The non-stop work is part of the City of Saskatoon’s Biosolids Pipeline Corridor Project. The underground pipelines that run material from the Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Biosolids Handling facility are at the end of their service life. An “impossible to remove” build-up of human waste – technically called biosolids – is part of the reason the pipes need replacing, according to the city.

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But the city said replacing the old pipelines with newer ones requires construction work to be ongoing 24/7 because of the horizontal directional drilling method being used. According to the City of Saskatoon’s website, the project is expected to continue until July.

The work, which is happening along the North Meewasin Trail, is close to a number of homes on Perreault Crescent, with backyards and bedrooms facing the constant construction.

Blair Healey, who lives in the area, said he’s had to sleep with a white-noise machine and fans running, while another local resident, Darlene Britton, said the worst part isn’t noise –it’s the vibration.

“It’s like if you’re at some kind of a concert,” she said.

Mel Robinson said her home feels like it’s constantly “humming” with the construction noise. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)

“I just felt the vibration through my body all the time, and it was just driving me crazy.”

Britton it got to the point where stopped sleeping in her bedroom, which faces the rear of her home and the construction site.

“I just couldn’t stand it, so I had to sleep downstairs, where there’s an extra wall between, and I was able to sleep,” she said.

Mel Robinson said another issue is the lights that illuminate the work at night, which she said shine into her bedroom window and turn the darkness into “daytime.”

Robinson said there are also vac trucks at the site with yellow hazard lights flashing all night long.

Delayed apologies not enough for some

During a city council meeting last week, Russ Munroe, Saskatoon’s director of water, apologized to residents in the area. He said it wasn’t clearly communicated that the work would be ongoing 24 hours a day.

Lynn Britton, Darlene’s husband, said pamphlets about the construction, which indicated the dates when the work was happening, were dropped off at his home by the city. Though the construction has led to worse sleep, he said he understands the work needs to happen.

But Robinson said the city needs to do better.

She said the city “went ahead and just did it, and then asked for forgiveness later.”

Robinson said the city claimed it couldn’t pause the project now that the work had begun.

“What happens if we went and I started my pressure washer and just left it by your house 24 hours a day? ‘Oh, well, sorry, it has to be done,’” Robinson said.

While she doesn’t think anything’s going to change now that construction is underway, Robinson said the next time the city does a big project, it needs to consult with local residents who will be affected before starting the work.

“Don’t just go ahead and do it and then say ‘sorry’ later,” she said.

On Friday, Mayor Cynthia Block said she regretted the lack of communication over the pipeline replacement project, and agreed it’s “something that we need to fix.”