A man and a woman have been charged with mischief in connection with the flooding at Winnipeg police headquarters, with extensive damage still to be cleaned up.

Water began dripping Saturday evening in the tower section of the downtown office complex at 266 Graham Avenue.

In a news release Sunday, Winnipeg police said the flooding occurred after two people opened several emergency water valves in the tower building’s upper-floor stairwell around 6 p.m. Saturday.

Police said within minutes, water pressure built up in the pipes so much that water poured into the tower’s stairwells and flooded some areas of the company’s headquarters.

“Water was coming downstairs and water was coming out of the ceiling. It happened very quickly,” said Cst. Dani McKinnon told reporters at a press conference Sunday.

“It’s just like the floodgates have basically opened.”

CBC News first received information about the flooding at police headquarters at 7:30 p.m. Around 8:30 p.m., water was seen pouring from the ceiling of the main entrance and pooling around pieces of a broken light fixture near the elevator.

Firefighters arrived at the building and secured the damaged valve, according to the statement.

Police said two suspects have been identified in connection with the flooding. Officers searched the area around the building and found it in the 200 block of Graham Street just after 11 p.m.

A 51-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were charged with six counts of mischief over $5,000. Both were contractually released.

“Extensive” property damage

No one was injured, but the water caused “extensive flooding damage” to some work spaces in the building, police said.

The office tower, acquired by the city in 2009, is largely vacant land. On Sunday, police could not say how many floors were damaged or whether the basement was affected by flooding.

Mr McKinnon said he had not heard of any “evidence being compromised” by the flooding. Asked by reporters whether the building’s cruisers, servers or power systems were compromised, police said they were still investigating what exactly was affected.

“This work will take some time,” she said. “We will take our time to find every inch of the affected area.”

Police also could not answer whether anyone in custody had to be relocated due to flooding.

In the meantime, uniform operations will not be affected by flooding disruptions, but some task forces will have to be relocated and the department’s office at 245 Smith Street will remain closed for in-person reporting.

Until further notice, users can continue to create reports online. Police say if it’s an emergency, call 911. For non-emergency cases, call 204-986-6222.

The flooding occurred the same week that hearings began in the state’s investigation into the police headquarters construction project.

This is the second time that the city’s police headquarters has been damaged by flooding. In 2014, while the complex was still under construction, a rainstorm flooded the basement, causing $4.1 million in damage.

On Sunday, workers at the building were removing carpet, soaking up remaining water and using industrial fans to dry the space.

“The weather is on our side,” McKinnon said, as temperatures rose to 2C on Sunday.

“I can only imagine how slippery it is outside and how difficult it is.” [otherwise]. ”

“This is property damage, but we will get through this.”

The incident also flooded the Canada Post space within the facility. CBC News has contacted Canada Post for comment.