A firefighter surveys the scene after a water main broke and flooded several blocks Friday, July 28, 2023, in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
MONTREAL – A major water main break in northeastern Montreal on Friday forced evacuations, damaged roads and submerged vehicles.
The city said it ordered the evacuation of 18 buildings and cut power to the area as a precaution. No one was injured, and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said the priority was to have power and water restored as soon as possible to the affected sector of the city’s Villeray-St-Michel-Park-Extension borough.
City officials said a 36-inch drinking water pipe burst around 4 a.m., and flooded a neighbourhood street, causing the road to buckle.
Chantal Morrissette, the city’s water service director, said plugging the leak was complex. Public works employees first had to find the broken pipe, then had to turn off several valves on the main and secondary pipes before the water began to recede about 11 a.m., she said.
Repair work could take several hours, a fire official said.
The cause of the break is unknown. Morrisette said the pipe in question had been installed in 1974, and while it was due to be replaced in the coming years, it failed prematurely.
In a statement, the City of Montreal noted that parts of the underground infrastructure are 100 years old and have reached or long exceeded their service life.
A sports centre in neighbouring Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie was opened to take in residents forced to leave their homes.
A boil water advisory was in effect for about 75,000 people in the area.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2023.
