Problems are popping up inside the new downtown Winnipeg police headquarters.

Last week, two different incidents were identified and now the structural integrity of a parking area is being looked at by engineers.

One issue was a leaking pipe on the fifth floor. Const. Rob Carver said wet ceiling tiles tipped staff off that something was wrong Friday afternoon.

"The water line is supported by a ceiling anchor and the ceiling anchor failed. The line ended up sagging and when it sagged, it cracked."

Carver said it wasn't clear at the time which water line was leaking, and there are some pipes in the area that are used in cooling IT systems.

About 10 people in custody were moved to the East District Police Station in case of a failure.

"There are electrical systems in the prisoner processing area in terms of doors and passageways that are electronically controlled," Carver said.

The other issue was in the ceiling of the basement parking area, where the concrete started to flake and bubble last week.

"Once we exposed it to see what was happening, we found some corroded reinforcing steel," Carver said.

As a precaution, no vehicles are parking or driving on the floor directly above the spot and an engineering assessment was ordered.

"We have to figure out why it corroded and has that altered the integrity of the floor at all," Carver explained.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson said in a statement the city is conducting an assessment to “determine the potential remedial scope of work required, and we will continue to monitor and evaluate the facility on an ongoing basis.”

The Graham Avenue building is no stranger to structural issues and controversy. When WPS staff moved into the facility last year, many deficiencies were identified including leaks, electrical and heating issues.

Its construction also ran close to $80 million over budget and is the subject of an RCMP fraud investigation.

However, Carver said these two incidents are minor, and he believes they are regular complications that come with repurposing an older building.

"No matter what you do to refurbish it and retrofit it, the basic structure was built in the 50s."

Carver said the leaking pipe was found to be a general water line and the leak didn't affect any computer cooling systems.

The holding cells downtown were back in use the next day.

The two incidents are believed to be separate. Carver said while engineers are looking into what caused the corrosion in the basement, the leaking pipe appears to be a one-time situation that's nearly done being fixed.