Water & Wastewater | Municipality of Boissevain

Water Stewardship

The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton strives to provide high quality drinking water in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of the public. It is our goal to meet all the regulatory requirements governing the provision of drinking water in a safe and cost effective manner.

It is our belief that the public has a right to access information related to drinking water they consume.

Public Water System Reports

Water and Sewer Rates

The by-law setting the current rate schedule for water and sewer services is available on our by-laws page.

Sewers and Tree Roots

Property owners are responsible for maintaining sewer lines from a building or private residence to where it joins the main line. Sewer lines should be kept in good repair, properly maintained and regularly cleaned. This is especially important in older structures where tree roots often gain entry to sewer pipes through cracked portions of the pipe, causing blockages.

About trees, tree roots and sewer pipes

Roots from trees growing near sewer lines do not actively penetrate sewer pipes and cause blockages.
Roots gain entry through previously cracked portions of sewer pipes.
- Sewer pipes inevitably deteriorate through old age or separate and crack due to ground shifting and heaving.
Sewer pipe is laid approximately 2 metres, or more, deep.
The only tree roots at that depth are anchor roots, as the finer and fibrous feeder roots are located within the first metre of soil.
Anchor roots can co-exist with intact sewer pipes indefinitely without causing blockages.
A sewer line leak allows sewage and air to escape into the soil, creating a ratio of air, water and nutrients at that depth that becomes similar to those found near the surface. Anchor roots at the site of the leak produce very fine, opportunistic feeder roots that can enter the sewer pipe.

In situations where the property owner requests (in writing) the removal of publicly owned trees for the reason of sewer line blockage, a Public Works representative will inspect the tree(s) and make a decision in this regard. Publicly owned trees are not normally removed for the reason of sewer line blockage. Healthy trees are a valuable asset to the community and the municipality and are only removed when they are dead, diseased, dying, involved in approved construction, or are hazardous in terms of safety or visibility.