Home flooded as residents wait 4 days for city to fix burst pipe

By Adrian Ghobrial

City of Toronto workers finally arrived to fix a burst pipe on Wednesday evening, four days after it ruptured in a west-end neighbourhood, flooding a family home and threatening another.

On New Year’s Day, when Daniel and Robyn Eliesen returned home after a winter vacation, they found a flood on their front lawn on Lauder Avenue, near Dufferin and St. Clair. A city pipe had burst underneath the grass and water was flooding the area and street.

A neighbour had already called the city about the problem two days before. But as far as the Eliesens could see, all the city had done was to place a pylon at the site.

The Eliesens also called the city, but to no avail.

“I think I’ve called like 10 to 12 times that 311 number,” Robyn Eliesen said. “At some point it’s just like, ‘What are you going to do?’

“It’s incredibly frustrating because the water keeps coming in and there’s nothing you can do to make it stop. Three days — more than three days — this has been ongoing. Is that acceptable service in your opinion? Absolutely not. At some point there should be some emergency action taken.”

Eventually their sump pump gave out, and on Tuesday night their basement began to flood.

They called Toronto Fire, which on Wednesday removed the basement toilet so the water would have another avenue to drain.

The Eliesens also brought in a plumber, who told CityNews the couple had prepared the home correctly, with a sump pump, but it simply couldn’t keep up with the amount of water pouring into the house.

He estimated the damage to be as much as $15,000.

 

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