You may recall some explosion sounds that took place in the east part of Portage a few years ago. More correctly, they were implosions and Manitoba Hydro was working on new lines near the hospital location. They're going to be performing similar work again. A new station just west of the city is being developed. Media relations assistant Riley McDonald says it's enhancing Portage's hydro capacity due to future growth.
"We are using these implosion sleeves," explains McDonald. "It's basically a metal tube with some explosives in it, and they are for fusing lines together or fusing ends online."
The previous means of connecting lines used a hydraulic pump and took quite some time. McDonald notes the pumps were at work for several hours, and had the potential of breaking down. The new system is a safe and fast way to permanently fuse lines.
"They're similar to a firework in terms of their noise and light," continues McDonald. "So, we're doing about 170 blasts over the course of the next few months. People within a mile radius or so have already been notified, and we've talked to the RM, as well. We're doing it sporadically throughout the next few months, weather-dependent, of course, and subject to scheduling. But there's a number of lines, obviously, that are coming into the station that need to be fused."
He says this work will improve reliability and the implosions will only occur during business hours.
Sat, Jul 27, 10:00 AM
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