A burst pipe in the kitchen of the South East Event Centre (SEC) in Steinbach caused significant disruptions over the weekend, forcing the cancellation of events and delaying services. But according to the team behind the facility, things are slowly getting back on track.
"We're getting back on track," said Jeffrey Bannon, General Manager at the SEC.
"The water was turned back on this morning. So, we have kitchen staff in there right now preparing. We were hoping to open our ‘Grab and Go’ concession this past Monday, but for now the plan is to open it Thursday, which is tomorrow."
Bannon notes that the issue began Sunday morning before 9 am. SEC staff arrived at 8:55 am to water gushing from pipes in the kitchen ceiling.
"If our staff hadn't been here, getting ready to open the 'Grab and Go', the whole place would have been flooded."
Bannon says that water covered some key areas for the facility.
"It caused flooding inside the main kitchen, the elevator, and now we’re inspecting damage underneath the gym floor, which is right next door to the kitchen. There are some potential major ramifications due to the water leak.”
The watery situation has brought stress and frustration to the SEC team on top of lost time and revenue.
“When you’re told you can’t use the kitchen, you can't flush toilets or you can't drink the water out”, you're like, I don't know what to do, because that's our whole life, you know?”
Due to the uncertainty, some events have had to be postponed or relocated, including the popular Jets Viewing Party scheduled for tonight.
"We cancelled today's viewing party because we didn’t know when the water repairs would be done," said Bannon. "Planning something like that takes more than a day’s notice. Even now, we’re cautiously optimistic. We have to make sure no other leaks show up.”
Luckily, no tickets had been sold for the cancelled viewing party.
“We didn’t put them on sale,” Bannon explained. “We were supposed to go Live on Sunday, but then we were knee-deep in water.”
Another event affected was the Cornhole tournament, which had to be moved from the SEC gym to the Steinbach Curling Club.
“The SEC gym wouldn’t have been ready in time,” said Bannon. “So, we made the call early to give the tournament organizers time to plan properly.”
Despite the challenges, Bannon praised his team.
“Our staff are phenomenal. I tell them, ‘Embrace the chaos and expect the unexpected.’ They’re really living up to that right now.”
Bannon says that the water didn’t reach the ice surface, as that area is raised significantly.
“So thankful water didn’t get to the arena bowl, but honestly, I’d rather it had there than under the gym floor.”
Meanwhile, City of Steinbach Senior Operations Manager Paul Penner confirmed the issue began with a burst pipe in the kitchen ceiling.
“We had to shut down the water to the facility Sunday morning,” said Penner. “The water is back on now, but there’s still some damage we’re dealing with.”
Bannon says the plan now is to reopen the Grab and Go concession on Thursday, May 1, from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily. After that, attention will shift to reopening the “Forum and Bistro” restaurant and eventually the patio.
“That’s the 1-2-3,” said Bannon. “Right now, we’re just cautiously optimistic.”
Updates about upcoming events and facility openings are expected early next week.