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Water treatment plant damages to cost millions

Vehicles and a building at the Winnipeg Water Treatment Plant after being damaged by an excavator. (RCMP Handout) Vehicles and a building at the Winnipeg Water Treatment Plant after being damaged by an excavator. (RCMP Handout)
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The City of Winnipeg is flushing millions of dollars in repair costs after a man trashed the city's water treatment plant earlier this week.

It happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the R.M. of Springfield. RCMP caught a man who broke into the vehicle yard and began driving an excavator around.

Police said the man used the excavator to damage multiple buildings and vehicles at the plant.

A report to the city's water, waste, and environment committee Friday said that one maintenance building sustained significant structural damage during the incident. Others will require cosmetic repairs.

A total of 15 vehicles, most of them city-owned, are expected to be written off.

The report also said that several pieces of heavy equipment were damaged.

In all, the estimated damages will cost between four and five million dollars to repair.

A full security audit of the water treatment plant facility is now underway.

A 39-year-old man from Winnipeg faces several charges.

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