Homes flood, huge hole opens up after 2 water mains break in Halifax

Separate water main breaks shut down traffic and disrupted water service to thousands of homes and businesses in two Halifax neighbourhoods Thursday, opening up a huge hole along one road and leading to flooding in some homes.

A water main break overnight opened a hole and closed part of Herring Cove Road near Dentith Road, Halifax Regional Police said in a news release. Halifax Water said in an email about 7,000 service connections were impacted in the area. The number of people affected is higher, since an apartment building is counted as a single service connection. 

There was a separate break on McFatridge Road in Fairview affecting about 20 service connections.

Before 5 p.m., Halifax Water said in a news release that both the Herring Cove Road and McFatridge Road repairs were complete and the system is being refilled with water.

"Customers at low elevations in the system will see their water service return to normal later this evening – it will take longer for customers at higher elevations to see their water service return to normal," the statement said. 

Halifax Water spokesman Jake Fulton said water may be discoloured initially, and encouraged residents to run their cold water until it is clear before resuming normal water usage. Customers should not use the hot water faucet since this could draw discoloured water into hot water heaters or tanks.

Water is safe to drink once it runs clear, he said. 

If the water fails to clear after 10 minutes, the utility recommends waiting for a few hours and trying again with only cold water.

Herring Cove Road will remain closed between Dentith Road and Sussex Street as crews work to restore the road, and a detour is in place.

Cause of break to be determined

A full analysis of the system is needed to identify what caused the breaks, Fulton told CBC News. However, he said significant temperature changes can contribute to the issue. 

"So we saw 13, 14 degrees Celsius earlier in the week and then [a drop] to -10," Fulton said. "Those sorts of significant changes often cause water main breaks."

Shelter Nova Scotia made an urgent request on Twitter for bottled water donations to help people at its Herring Cove apartments.

The building's 12 residents and staff "are affected by the major water main break. Large and individual bottles please," Shelter Nova Scotia said in a tweet.

A Halifax Water truck ended up hood-deep in a sinkhole while responding to the break on Herring Cove Road as a snowstorm swept through the province. It was removed around 7:30 a.m. with the help of a backhoe. 

The second water main break on McFatridge Road between Dutch Village Road and Main Avenue caused flooding in some homes and buildings.

The floor of Russell Doneathy's apartment was covered with two inches of water Thursday morning.

"I was awoken to my phone vibrating on the floor in the water," he said. "I came upstairs, [looked outside] only to see a torrent of water going down the hill, and I was told, to the highway."

Karen Armstrong's basement flooded on McFatridge. She said the water was up to her knees.

"Everything's floating. My furnace is covered — well not fully covered but the motor part of it is covered, so that's probably no use anymore, my washer and dryer," she said, listing some of the items damaged in the flood.

She said her insurance deductible is $2,000 and she said she hopes Halifax Water will foot the bill.