Neepawa Council Debrief: First the Work, Then the Play

Neepawa Council Prepares for Chamber Fair, Recaps Water Main Emergency, and Looks Ahead to Summer

Rrain Prior – Local Journalism Initiative

As the Neepawa Town Council prepares for the upcoming Chamber of Commerce Fair and other seasonal events, it also took time this week to debrief a near-catastrophic water main break that unfolded over the long weekend.

The tenth annual Chamber of Commerce Fair is set to run from May 23 to 25, and Council Reports were largely dominated by a rundown of the weekend’s events. Alongside the fair, residents can look forward to a colour run in support of Rotary Park playground improvements and the Spring Fever Bike Races at the Hylife Back Forty Bike Park. The following weeks will also see a town-wide cleanup effort on May 30 and the opening of the public pool on June 2.

Mayor Brian Hedley also provided a detailed update on council and staff efforts to support the upcoming new hospital, currently anticipated to open in 2026. That includes renovation work at the former RCMP headquarters, which is being transformed into a training centre, as well as ongoing discussions with various levels of government and healthcare organizations. Of particular focus are efforts to reduce barriers for internationally educated doctors and nurses. The hospital is expected to generate approximately 150 new jobs, making recruitment and retention a key issue moving forward.

The biggest news of the week, however, was the water main break that took place on Saturday evening of the long weekend—or rather, breaks, as there turned out to be two. Manager of Operations Denis Saquet walked Council through the timeline of events, from the initial discovery to the steps taken to make the emergency repairs. Water service from the damaged raw line was restored to the treatment plant within 25 hours of the first notification. Saquet pointed out that a planned outage of similar scope would typically require weeks, if not months, of preparation.

While some residents may have wondered whether the town-wide advisory to limit water usage was an overreaction, Saquet explained that, under normal usage conditions and without any new treated water being produced, the town would have run dry by Sunday morning. Thanks to conservation efforts, the supply held until Sunday evening, when repairs were completed. At that point, Neepawa was within a few hours of running out of treated water entirely—an event that would have triggered a boil water order potentially lasting more than a week.

Council also addressed a request from Neepawa’s Got Pride, which advised of plans to repaint the Pride sidewalk in front of ArtsForward and requested that the town fly the Pride flag at Riverbend Park during June. Council agreed to the request, and Saquet confirmed that the town would supply the flags.

In other council business, CAO Colleen Synchyshyn reminded residents that nominations for the vacant Town Council seat will be accepted from June 4 to 10 during regular business hours. Any interested community members are encouraged to visit the town office for more information and to collect nomination forms. The by-election is scheduled for July 16.

Also on the agenda were a pair of public hearings for uncontested setback variances, the second reading of the tax levy bylaws, and the regular financial reports.