A 12-inch water main burst Thursday morning in downtown Prince George, flooding the streets near Third Avenue and causing an extended water outage to surrounding buildings.
City spokesman Michael Kellett said the burst, on Third Avenue and Vancouver Street, was on a bigger pipe, which is why there was so much water.
Because of that, the city expected an “extended water outage” for residents and businesses in the area. However, water service had been restored as of 6:40 p.m., Kellett said in an email.
Any residents in the area experiencing cloudy water were encouraged to run the taps until the water runs clear. However, the water is safe to drink.
“The city is going to open up the west bound lanes along (Third) Avenue, but will be keeping the east bound lanes closed from Vancouver Street to Victoria Street for the time being as we plan on paving the excavation tomorrow morning,” Kellett’s email said.
At 9 a.m., Victoria Street was dry, but soon cars were splashing through a rising tide of water streaming down from Third Avenue and pooling near sidewalks to ankle-high depth.
Water gushes down Third Ave pic.twitter.com/Dw8mwwdNaI
— Brent Braaten (@brent_braaten) November 24, 2016
Immediately after the pipe burst, crews worked to shut off water between Victoria Street to Melville Avenue, but Kellett said it took awhile to get it shut off.
There was at least one flooded basement, he said, and possibly more.
Crews don’t yet know the cause but believe it may be because the pipe is quite old. The pipe dates back to 1957, the city said.
The City of Prince George said residents can follow its social media accounts (twitter.com/cityofpg and facebook.com/cityofpg) for updates, or contact the Service Centre for information at 250-561-7600.
Visit www.pgcitizen.ca to view a video of water flooding the streets Thursday morning.Water gushes down Third Ave pic.twitter.com/Dw8mwwdNaI
Here's the corner of Victoria and 4th. Took one for the team and soaked my shoes. #cityofpg pic.twitter.com/QHt7fQMUYz
— Samantha WrightAllen (@samanthawrights) November 24, 2016
Some of the work going on along 3rd avenue and Vancouver pic.twitter.com/7rP5fqzqk1
— Samantha WrightAllen (@samanthawrights) November 24, 2016
The City of Prince George said residents can follow its social media accounts (@cityofpg and facebook.com/cityofpg) for updates, or contact the Service Centre for information at 250.561.7600.
