An above average number of water main breaks in Regina has crews working late and through the weekends. (CBC )

The City of Regina is dealing with more than 170 water main breaks so far in the month of September, which is nearly double the average the city usually has during this month.

City officials said there are usually about 90 main breaks in September.

The past few wet springs and now several months of dry weather has caused ground shifting and pipe leaks, said John Ullrich, manager of water and sewer construction for the City.

"All of sudden July comes, and we get the extreme heat and the long periods without rain and the soil is contracting and causes the pipes to shift and therefore break," he said.

Ullrich said the age of the pipes also plays a role, though he said September is usually a bad month for water main breaks.

"It's unfortunate," said Amanda Flahr who lives on a street where a break is being fixed. "The water has been leaking for about a week now, so nobody could use the sidewalk."

Flahr got a notice in her mailbox Wednesday afternoon saying her water will be shut off — the notice didn't say for how long.

City crews are working late evenings and on weekends, trying to keep up with the repairs, Ullrich said.