THUNDER BAY - A water main break early Monday morning has partially closed a busy street on the city’s south side.
City crews were notified of a water main break at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Edward Street just north of Redwood Avenue.
Crews were on the scene working to clear away snow and reach the water main in order to conduct repairs.
David Warwick, superintendent of water distribution and waste water collection said the cause of the break is not yet known at this time.
“We cannot determine the cause of it until we get down to the pipe and see what’s going on,” he said.
The north bound lane on Edward Street is closed to traffic at the intersection with Redwood Avenue, though several cars were ignoring the signs and continuing northward in the south bound lane.
“We just ask the public to be patient with our staff,” Warwick said. “They are trying to get the water back on and working in tough conditions out there. We ask everybody to keep their safety in mind.”
The sidewalk on the east side of Edward Street is also closed as ice has already accumulated and is making for dangerous walking conditions.
“We just ask everybody to be careful when they are in the area,” Warwick said. “We will be doing our best to mitigate those issues, scraping, sanding, doing what we can to get rid as much ice as possible. It does take some time.”
It is believed between 10 and 15 households were without water, but Warwick said he expects the water to be back on this afternoon and the road reopened by early evening.
According to Warwick, there have been several water main breaks in the city so far this year, which is not uncommon.
“They are more frequent in the winter,” he said. “There are several factors that play into it, but they definitely occur more in the winter. The ground moves a lot more once you get frost in the ground.”
