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Village of Burns Lake's water leak mystery solved

Over the past several months the search for the water leak lead to the excavation of Hwy. 16 and the Lakeland Hotel parking lot.

The source of a Hwy. 16 water leak that has plagued the Village of Burns Lake public works crew for over five months, has been found and repaired.

Rick Martin, Village of Burns Lake's director of public works updated council on the issue last week.

He said the water leak was created by a corroded pipe leading through Pioneer Park and into the Canadian Cancer Society office.

"After several tests we discovered the leak was coming from a feed leading to that building," Martin said.

The area was excavated on June 4, 2012 and public works crew found a severely corroded pipe elbow leading into the building.

"On June 5, we put all the pavers back in place and we are done with that issue," Martin said.

Mayor Luke Strimbold said, "That's good news that you have found the leak. This has been an issue for a long time and it is great to have finally figured it out."

Over the past several months the search for the water leak lead to the public works crew extensively excavating Hwy. 16 near the Canadian Cancer Society office and the Lakeland Hotel parking lot

As reported in the Lakes District News edition of Jan. 11, 2012, the leak was initially discovered by a public works crew member during routine maintenance on Christmas day.

Village chief administrative officer Sheryl Worthing said the leak was the approximate volume of a five-eighth inch garden hose running open, so the water loss was minimal.

To prevent the possibility of flooding, the water was diverted to a storm drain on Gilgan Drive, while the source of the leak was being investigated.