Utility crews continued clean-up efforts into the afternoon Friday, after an early-morning water main break flooded a street just west of downtown.
A water main break forced officials to close 124 Street, in the area of 108 Avenue, just after 3:00 a.m. Friday.
The water gushed into the street, and then spread east, flooding a number of nearby businesses and homes – for some, the water was as high as a metre.
“It’s kind of a perfect storm of everything going wrong on the same day,” Area homeowner Michael Hesketh, whose backyard flooded because of the break, said. “So with the water main breaking and the freeze and the thaw in the last couple of weeks that’s plugged all of the drains.
“Just the worst thing happened in the worst place at the worst time.”
A number of area businesses were also affected by the gushing water - but the local business association said damages will be dealt with right away.
"It's unfortunate it happened," Jeff McLaren with the 124th Street Business Association said. "In a couple of weeks you'll see us back up better than ever."
It took crews about four hours to shut off the flow of water - EPCOR said in the winter it can take crews some time to get the upper hand on water main breaks.
"So first you have to find them, and then break through," EPCOR spokesperson Tim LeRiche said. "Sometimes the valves can be frozen once you get there."
The street was opened again a short time after the water was shut off.
As for who will cover the damages, EPCOR is not stepping in except to help clean up - home and business owners will have to go through their insurance companies to be reimbursed.
With files from Jeff Harrington
