Two unrelated water main breaks caused damage at Winkler Elementary School and J.R Walkof within days of each other.

"We had two in two days," Garden Valley School Division Superintendent Vern Reimer explains.

In both cases, aging and corroded cast iron pipes rusted through.

The first incident took place on Sunday August 20 at the Winkler Elementary School. The city was forced to shut off water to most of 9th Street residents while repairs were made.

Water flooded the Industrial Arts shop, Band Room, and the school's mini amphtheatre. Reimer says there was minimal damage to band instruments and shop equipment. Though much of the carpet will need to be replaced.

The second incident took place at J.R Walkof, however the water was contained to the school's crawl space. In both instances the cast iron piping was replaced with PVC.

Reimer says the goal is to have repairs finished before school starts in the coming days.