‘Water was just spewing everywhere’: Violent watermain break in London neighbourhood puts residents in danger

The watermain broke in Oxford Park, shooting water into the air and sending debris flying. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell has more.

Residents in London’s Oxford Park neighbourhood west of downtown and the Thames River are thanking their lucky stars that no one was hurt in a weekend blast on their street.

A watermain break erupted on Britannia Avenue overnight Saturday, sending a high-pressure gush of water sky-high, with rocks and other debris flying everywhere.

Resident Scott Bollert had arrived home late from work when a short while later he heard what he said sounded like an explosion.

“About 1:30 in the morning, next thing I know it was a massive explosion and it just sounds like a whole bunch of rocks are hitting cars and houses and stuff. I didn’t really even know what it was. It sounded almost like an ice-maker,” he said.

Bollert took to social media that night to vent his frustration after calling 911 about the eruption on the residential street.

“So I’m told by 911 that I’m holding up their line by calling them to tell them that this line is doing this in the middle of our street,” he exclaimed.

Making matters worse, Bollert’s car was parked next to the geyser with his work gear inside. He says he’s been informed by his insurance company that the vehicle is now considered a write-off.

“My insurance company wants a thousand dollar deductible just to replace the stuff that’s in there. And I don’t understand. I mean it would be different if it was my fault,” he said.

The Dawson family, across the street from Bollert, was also victim to the powerful outflow.

“The water was just spewing everywhere about a hundred feet up, just breaking apart concrete and the rest of the pavement,” said Loralee Dawson.

Flying rocks took out a number of car windshields on the street, along with some property left outside. Al Dawson, Loralee’s father, said his truck sustained $3,700 damage, based on a repair estimate.

“The guy I talked to in the city told me it was an act of God and they weren’t responsible, and I had to sue my insurance company. I talked to my insurance company, and they don’t value my truck as much as the cost of the repairs, so either I can fix it myself or they can give me a small amount of money and take my truck,” he lamented.

Neighbours say the street was a danger zone, with the high-pressure water gushing way up above the light standard and “basket-ball” sized rocks being strewn about the street. A number of people called 911.

The London Fire Department and London Police attended within a couple of hours, and eventually, city works crews arrived to shut the water off.

Ward Councillor David Ferriera said the city does have an emergency line for situations like this, but it does not operate after-hours.

“I’m not surprised that the response would be that ‘we are here for emergency response, whether that’s for police, fire or ambulance.’ So that’s just goes to the point that maybe we should look into an emergency after hours number that’s 24-7,” he suggested.

Ferriera said he’s waiting to hear from city staff what caused the watermain break.

“I’ve already requested staff look into that part of the infrastructure to see if we have any plans in the works. But we’re fortunate that it did happen at that time,” he said.

“So if it was during the day I can only imagine there would have been some damages and somebody hurt for sure,” added Bollert.