It's been a busy day for Portage la Prairie city crews, dealing with a couple of watermain breaks.

One is in the city, on 3rd Street Southeast, near the Court of Queen's Bench building. The other is on the Poplar Bluff lift station line, past the Portage diversion, southwest of the city.

Manager of Public Works Brian Taylor says it's a force main break, and that's their top priority.

Brian Taylor

"We don't know what kind of break it is," he says, "From where it is, we're assuming the line has split, just because of the way the lines are installed. So we have to get a heat shack out there. It's out in an open field, so we have to make sure the guys are safe and get the ground levelled so we can get the equipment and vehicles in there."

Taylor talks about what they're doing on 3rd Street.

"We are thawing our valves so we can get them closed," he says, "And with that closure, the only building affected is the court house. So once we get that done, we're going to get the street cleaned up."

Taylor says they won't do any more until the Poplar Bluff situation is resolved.