Second repair completed on Baseline Road water main, road reopens to traffic

After two days of traffic disruptions, crews have completed repairs on the broken water main on Baseline Road. CTV’s Kimberley Fowler explains what went wrong.

City of Ottawa crews completed repairs on a broken water main on Baseline Road Wednesday afternoon, after the pipes broke twice on Tuesday and disrupted travel for two days.

The eastbound lanes of Baseline Road, between Fisher Avenue and Lexington Street, were closed for several hours so crews could fix the water main for a second time.

“Repairs to the water main are now complete. A final layer of asphalt will follow this spring,” Coun. Riley Brockington said on social media.

Crews initially repaired the line Tuesday afternoon, but the pipe broke a second time.

“(Tuesday) morning, staff responded to a water main break on Baseline Road between Fisher Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive. Staff responded immediately to investigate and begin repairs, which included excavation work,” said Carina Duclos, director of Infrastructure Services, in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“The water main broke after initially being fixed. To address this, the City will backfill the site and reopen the eastbound lanes later (Tuesday) afternoon. Crews will return (Wednesday) morning to safely complete the repair.”

The city says the water main was initially installed in 1957, and was a cast iron main.

“Cast iron typically does not react well to changes such as sudden pressure drops when a failure occurs or sudden pressure increases when valves are not opened slowly, or when saturated soil does not provide the same support to the pipe,” city staff told CTV News Ottawa.

“Any one of those reasons could be the cause of a second failure after the repair. Of those causes, our crews mitigate by ensuring well-compacted bedding to support the pipe in the excavation and they operate the valves slowly to avoid a ‘water-hammer’ or pressure surge.”

Duclos said properties near the break should not experience a loss of water service because of system redundancy.

“We recognize the inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate residents’ patience as we work as quickly as possible to restore water service and minimize the disruptions to residents in the area,” Duclos wrote.

Photos by CTV News Ottawa’s Dave Charbonneau showed crews repairing the water main on Baseline just east of Fisher Avenue Tuesday morning.

The water main break on Baseline Road is the latest infrastructure issue in Ottawa. During two weeks over the Christmas holidays, the city responded to 32 reports of leaks or broken water mains.

“It’s important to note that the City’s water main infrastructure is in good condition and is regularly monitored to ensure safety and reliability,” Duclos said.

“The City has comprehensive programs in place to proactively manage and mitigate risks associated with aging infrastructure to minimize impacts on residents and maintain uninterrupted water service whenever possible.”