Burst Pipes Flood Shops on Elgin ST

Some businesses along Elgin Street experienced flooding or a loss of water services after a water main broke early on the morning of Jan. 18 near Elgin and Cooper streets.

An employee at Mags and Fags magazine shop, located at 254 Elgin Street, who declined to be identified, said the store had experienced flooding in the basement the day of the water main burst.

Amy Dau, manager of Morrison's Unisex Hair Design and Esthetics, said water service had been shut off at her salon, but her shop hadn't experienced flooding.

"There's been no water services, so we've had to cancel customers," Dau said. "All my staff had to go home."

An employee at MacDonalds on Elgin Street, who also declined to be identified, said the store was closed the day of the water main break.

River Coun. Maria McRae, chairwoman of the environment committee, said the rupture wasn't related to one that had happened over the previous weekend.

During a press conference on Jan. 18, McRae said there wasn't an exact cause of the burst.

"No one had any idea this pipe would burst," said McRae, adding that the pipe dates back to 1874, but analysis showed that it was fine during the recent resurfacing of Elgin in 2011. "This had been looked at earlier. There was no indication the pipe was going to fail. It would make common sense that if you have cast-iron pipes dating back to the 1800s or early 1900s, that they're getting old. Hence, every time we're resurfacing we need to get that integrated (water and sewer) program moving forward."

Integrated road work (sewer, water and road surface) is being advanced starting this year as part of Ottawa On The Move.

McRae said there are roughly two to four pipe ruptures a day throughout the city, and it's "disruptive and costly" to repair broken mains. A repair like this one would cost about $8,000.

She added that water rates will be set this month and any additional increase above the four per cent increase in water rates last year would be in order to help accelerate replacement of water pipes.

Compensation for loss of business to the affected stores on Elgin would also be looked at through the legal services department. Elgin will be patched and then resurfaced in the spring for the section that has to be dug up.

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