A major watermain break in Moncton has left more than 10,000 residents — along with schools, businesses and daycares — under a boil-water advisory that is expected to remain in place until at least Thursday. City officials say the break happened early Monday afternoon when alarms at a main pumping station detected flows almost double the normal rate for the tri-community. The problem was confirmed minutes later by a bystander who reported a major rupture along the system. Julie Stokes, the City of Moncton’s interim director of water distribution and wastewater, says crews quickly realized the issue was larger than a routine break. “It was a 16-inch waterline that blew up,” she said. “It became a very widespread event, and it took a while for us to get the map out to the public.” Stokes says the break appears to have occurred at an older connection point linking two different types of pipe, although the area is still being exposed and investigated. She says cold weather, shifting ground and aging infrastructure are contributing factors. “We get about 40-to-50 watermain breaks a year. In the last five days, we’ve had four — two of them on large transmission lines,” she said. “It is the season of watermain breaks.” At the height of the outage, the city was inundated with calls from residents reporting lost water service. Because the system failed unevenly across neighbourhoods, geography had to be pieced together in real time based on call volume. Stokes says the outage ultimately affected more than 10,000 customers, including five schools, several restaurants, special-care homes and daycares. Crews worked through the night to remove air from the system and restore pressure. Work on the physical repair is expected to continue through Tuesday. The city says that once the repair is complete, two consecutive days of water sampling are required before the boil-water advisory can be lifted. Boil water advisory Moncton resident Jill Cruickshanks first learned about the break through neighbours. “A neighbour called and asked if we had water. We hadn’t been home for a few hours, so we checked the tap and there was nothing,” she said. Cruickshanks, who is not on social media, says she didn’t receive the boil water advisory until later in the evening. “We didn’t get any idea about the boil advisory… we didn’t get the text until around seven o’clock last night.” Her family has resorted to boiling water throughout the day for drinking, washing hands and preparing food. “We’ve had the kettle boiling and letting the water sit. We’ve been pouring it into drinking containers and thermoses so there’s some in the bathroom and some here for washing hands,” she said. Cruickshanks says she is especially mindful of her five-month-old granddaughter. “If she’d been here yesterday, and we thought it was just our block, we might have put her in the tub. That’s what worries me.” Anglophone East School District says no schools have closed because of the advisory. Bottled water and coolers are being delivered to affected schools so students and staff can drink water safely and cafeteria operations can continue. Bathrooms remain open and usable. The break has also forced businesses to adjust quickly. Guiliano Speranza, owner of Zio’s Pizza, says preparing dough took far longer than usual. “I had to boil water for an hour-and-a-half just to make dough,” he said. At Pawsitive Care, a dog daycare caring for 46 dogs on Tuesday, staff scrambled to secure enough drinking water for animals and employees. Operations manager Alex Foley says the advisory came too late for them to prepare. “We’re not here overnight, so I got the advisory first thing in the morning. We don’t have a kitchen, so we can’t boil anything,” he said. “We had to go straight to Sobeys and pretty much empty them out of every four-litre bottle they had.” By mid-morning, the business had already gone through sixty four-litre bottles of water. Foley, who lives outside the advisory zone, plans to refill large jugs at home during his lunch break to keep supplies flowing. Traffic impacts The city says drivers can expect delays on Wheeler Boulevard between Mapleton Road and Connaught Avenue as crews continue repair work throughout the day. Residents under the advisory are being told to boil water for at least one minute before using it for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or washing produce. The city also says anyone who still has no water, or who is experiencing very low pressure, should call 506-853-3333 or use the “Report an Issue” form on the city’s website. Stokes says crews hope to complete the repair today, with sampling continuing Wednesday and Thursday. The advisory will remain in effect until testing confirms the water is safe. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
