Pipe fix wait frustrates parents of closed daycare

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This article was published 21/03/2024 (584 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Parents of dozens of pre-school kids are upset the temporary closure of a south Winnipeg daycare could stretch out to almost a month.

A delay in fixing a broken sewage pipe is “due to complications within the excavation area,” a letter to the South Winnipeg Community Club and Waverley Heights Child Care Centre reads.

“The city is working to complete these repairs in a timely manner,” Jess Kuczera, the city’s senior property manager, wrote in the letter. “We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience.”

Parents at the daycare say they are becoming increasingly upset with how long it is taking to fix a pipe.

“I’m immensely frustrated with the city’s lack of urgency,” said parent Lindsay Sawyer Fay. “It’s too late to get kids into spring break camps for care for the week and social stimulation. Frankly, even if a parent does find a camp, it’s very pricey and we’re still paying daycare fees on top of that.”

The problem began March 13 when toilets in the South Winnipeg Community Centre’s Waverley site began backing up.

Parents of the roughly 50 children at the daycare were asked to immediately pick them up. They haven’t been able to return since.

Sawyer Fay, who said they’ve been told the daycare may not reopen until April 8, said she and her husband have been scrambling to move around work meetings in their respective jobs to accommodate looking after their five-year-old daughter. She’s also had to move all of her work meetings to Zoom.

“Any meetings we are in come with an upfront disclaimer that we may need to pause and mute periodically to parent,” she said. “It’s very much a return to COVID-like conditions.”

Whatever the site “complications” are, it’s not because any underground gas lines are in the way.

Manitoba Hydro spokesman Riley McDonald said crews visited earlier this week and reported to the city the sewer line “was not near the gas lines we located. The sewer work that needs to be done is not hampered by natural gas lines in any way.”

Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukes said a contractor has been hired by the city to determine what repair work can be done.

“Due to this delay, we are waiting to hear from the utility company and the water and waste department as to when the contractor will be on site to start the excavation and sewer repair work,” Lukes said.

“Please know this is a day-by-day situation with many moving parts.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca