Water main break disrupts water supply, traffic in Halifax

A water main break in west-end Halifax disrupted water supply and traffic early Monday afternoon.

Halifax Regional Police had asked drivers to avoid the Armdale Roundabout, where water was pooling, "making driving hazardous," the force said in a news release.

Just before 4 p.m. AT, police said the roundabout had reopened to traffic.

Halifax Water spokesperson Jeff Myrick said crews were working to repair the break, which occurred when a construction company hit a transmission main on Roosevelt Drive. 

Since the affected pipe is a transmission main, which brings water to a wide area, much of the Halifax peninsula may have low water pressure until the system repressurizes, and that could take two to three hours, he said around 2 p.m.

Myrick said 20 to 30 customers in the immediate area would be without water until the break is repaired.

Roosevelt Avenue is located just up a hill from the roundabout off Chebucto Road.

Myrick said the flooded section of the roundabout is connected to the water main break.

"As soon as that pipe broke, with that much pressure on it, the water would go everywhere," he said.

"Just imagine what your garden hose would be like if you poked a hole in it and then pinched it so that all the pressure was coming out through that hole."

The utility said customers affected by discoloured water should turn on their cold water tap until it runs clear.

Due to the water main break, Dalhousie University and the University of King's College closed at 12:30 p.m. AT Monday. They later announced the schools would reopen at 4:30 p.m.