‘I just couldn’t handle it’: Residents at 5 Mississauga apartment buildings waited days for water to be restored

Water has been restored to five Mississauga apartment buildings, more than three days after it was first cut off. (CTV News Toronto)

Water has been restored to five Mississauga apartment buildings, more than three days after it was first cut off.

The buildings located at 1405, 1423, 1477, 1547 and 1563 Mississauga Valley Boulevard saw their water run dry late on Sunday night as a result of a water main break in front of one of the buildings.

In video obtained by CTV News Toronto, water can be seen spraying like a geyser from the pipe.

Residents ended up spending days without water, which was only restored at around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. This was partly due to the fact that crew had to fix another section of the water main that unexpectedly failed while repairs were still underway to address the first issue, the building’s property management company Morguard has said.

“Being unable to shower, having to refill your toilet tank for it to flush, and also just having a sink of dirty dishes for like three, four days is unsanitary altogether,” resident Mayank Sharma said in an interview on Thursday morning.

Morguard Corporation offered cases of bottled water to residents, set up a line of portable toilets outside the buildings and arranged access to the Mississauga Valley Community Centre while the issue was ongoing.

“I had to go to my brother’s place to shower after two days yesterday because I just couldn’t handle it,” Sharma said. He added he would use the bottles of water to fill up his toilet tank and wash his hands.

The temperatures in Mississauga hovered around the single negative digits while the water was cut off to the buildings, though Environment Canada says the wind chill felt more like -12 to -13 on Thursday morning.

“The City of Mississauga had to shut the water off while repairs were in progress, and we appreciate their assistance,” Morguard spokesperson Susanne DesRochers said in a statement provided to CTV News Toronto.

“We understand the inconvenience our residents faced and appreciate their cooperation and patience.”

Both the city and Morguard say the water is back on at all of the impacted buildings, though the city notes two buildings are experiencing some low water pressure.

“The pressure at these properties will build up with time. The units have heat and power,” Irene McCutcheon, senior communications advisor at the City of Mississauga, said via email.

The city was made aware of the situation on Tuesday and city staff are continuing to visit the privately-owned properties to ensure residents are provided with the support they need.

“City and region staff have been working closely with the property manager and its contractors to fix the pipe and resume water supply,” McCutcheon wrote.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s John Musselman