City crews from Public Works are enjoying the late start to winter.
Last year was a miserable one for city crews who were inundated with repairs on broken water mains as the bitter cold winter of 2015 allowed the frost to seep deep into the ground causing major issues across the city, but primarily in the downtown core.
Right now city officials say they aren't even close to the frost levels from this time last year.
"At this point we're monitoring the frost levels but they still aren't deep enough for risk of freezing,” said Tanya Vrebosch, the Chair of Engineering & Public Works.
The city estimates the frost is only about 12 to 18 inches down in the ground right now.
A gradual thaw last spring helped city crews get a bit of a break after an unusually busy season for water main breaks in North Bay.
City officials say the reason for that problem was that frost levels were almost double the normal frost levels last winter, which led to as many as 300 frozen lines a week.
In February the city even opened the local arenas to residents who were without water due to problem. See that story here: https://www.baytoday.ca/local-news/coping-with-the-water-main-woes-20002
