EXCLUSIVE: Scarborough neighbourhood without water for almost a week
Posted February 14, 2015 7:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s been a frustrating and very dry week for people in a Scarborough neighbourhood after workers digging a hole broke a water main last week, causing the water to be shut off in about 300 homes.
Residents on Military Trail said that in the six days since the break, water was restored to only 14 homes for a total of two-hours.
Some said the situation has forced them to temporarily move out of their homes.
Those who remained have had to improvise when it comes to cooking and bathing.
“We’ve been trying to melt snow in order to flush our toilet… that only gets us so far,” area resident Tara McMahon told CityNews. “What can we do? We have no choice.”
The delay in repairing the water main started when the private contractors who hit the water main called the city to shut down the water. Upon inspection, the city deemed the job site — as well as the hole the contractors had dug — unsafe. The Ministry of Labour then issued a stop work order.
Coun. Paul Ainslie stopped by the neighbourhood on Saturday to speak with concerned residents about the issue.
He explained that Toronto Water is waiting on the green light from the Ministry but that won’t happen until the private contractors safely reinforce the hole.
That comes as little consolation to McMahon, who said her real worry is for the health of her four-month old twin babies.
“Are they going to take responsibility if my children get sick? I somehow doubt it,” she said.
CityNews spoke to a private contractor who confirmed that a water bypass line is being run across the street to provide these homes with enough water pressure to take care of the bare necessities until the problem is fixed.
