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Cranbrook, BC (March 3, 2025) – Requests for service, road, water and wastewater work and overall work orders for Public Works in the City of Cranbrook are all on the increase year over year.

A report presented to Council in late January 2025, highlighted a summary of operations and maintenance trends and metrics for Public Works in 2024, compared to 2023. Information shared with Council also highlighted trends in areas around maintenance programs and solid waste/recycling collection. You can review the summary report here.

The most significant increase for Public Works in 2024 was around water-related calls with a 17% increase in water infrastructure repairs compared to 2023. This rise is largely due to the aging copper service lines, which began showing increased corrosion and requiring more repairs since 2021. The total cost of repairing service line leaks and associated asphalt repairs has risen by approximately $317,740 since 2022, with Public Works labor costs increasing by $76,320. 

“Despite the cost increases, the overall operational budget has remained stable, meaning resources are being reallocated from other maintenance programs. This data we’ve collected will help us manage resources more effectively and work with Engineering to plan for future capital replacement programs in areas with increasing failures,” says Tony Hetu, Director of Public Works.

In 2024, Public Works saw notable improvements, including a 108% increase in sidewalk repairs compared to 2023, though trip hazard repairs were not completed due to reliance on a third-party service. Other road-related metrics, such as patching and asphalt repairs, showed slight increases. Service requests rose by 71%, largely driven by 566 garbage bin size inquiries during the automated collection rollout, along with water infractions, dead animal reports, pothole notifications, and snow removal requests.

Public Works completed one sewer repair, and cattle grazing at the spray irrigation site decreased due to operational changes and earlier irrigation after the 2023 lagoon upgrades. Work orders rose by 32%, especially in Parks, to better track maintenance costs. The team inventoried 2,242 street sign and parks assets, added to the City’s asset management software, and inspected 136 streetlights, up 14% from 2023.

You can find more information on these and other key performance indicators on our website under ‘Key Performance Indicators.’  Staff will be bringing updates to Council semi-annually going forward with the next update expected in September 2025.