Drinking water supply is being restored to all of the more than 26,000 addresses which were deprived of it for approximately 72 hours after a water main break, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in Montérégie .
The City announced late Thursday evening that its “final stage of the plan to restore drinking water distribution, namely the return to service of the aqueduct network […] has begun”, in the sectors of Saint-Luc, L’Acadie and part of Saint-Jean, located on the west shore.
“Over the next few hours, the population will observe a gradual increase in pressure in residences, businesses and industries,” the municipality indicated in a press release.
During this period, you are asked to limit your water consumption, and thus to postpone the use of the washer and dishwasher until later on Friday, “in order to avoid overloading the network”, mentioned the City .
A preventative boil water advisory is also still in effect for the west shore.
The City warns that “several factors make the re-commissioning stage unpredictable, since the aqueduct network may have been weakened by the numerous manipulations of valves carried out over the last 72 hours”.
Half of the population of the municipality of approximately 100,000 inhabitants found themselves without drinking water following a water main break that occurred at the intersection of Saint-Jacques and Caldwell streets on Monday.
The City then explained “that a junction broke on a main pipe with a diameter of 750 millimeters which supplies the north” of its territory, without however specifying exactly the cause.
In addition to residences, businesses and businesses, schools and the Haut-Richelieu hospital were also affected by the water cut.
The hospital continued to receive power during the repair work thanks to the establishment of a “water corridor”, although the water pressure was not optimal, according to municipal officials.
Firefighters remain on site “preventatively with a tank in the event of an unforeseen drop in pressure,” the City said.
A refill point to obtain free water remains open until Friday noon.