After driving from Vancouver to Regina in a couple of days I was pretty beat when I pulled up outside my house Tuesday afternoon. I was immediately taken by the stream bubbling through my front yard. Now a spring suddenly appearing in your front yard, might be turned into a nifty landscaping feature but I thought I should check out all the possibilities before getting carried away with that idea.
I called the city.
Sure enough the water line had split and although we still had water in the house, something had to be done about that stream.
This morning an army of workers and a convoy of heavy equipment arrived in front of the house and in short time they were digging holes in the road and my yard. The city water crew had moved in and had the problem in hand.
Who knew the problem would go right back to the old issue of contracting out? Instead of having city crews install the water lines, the city sub contracted the work. The contractor cut costs by using plastic lines instead of copper and now one by one they are splitting and have to be replaced. The workers tell me that thousands will have to be replaced within the next few years, and they will. Where is the contractor, who knows. Probably doing it all over again in some new subdivision.
Complain all you like about city workers. They will at least do the job right.
City counselors? They will continue to contract out to the cheapest bidder. You figure it out.
