Not holding their water

Maintenance workers with the Town of CBS have had their hands full the past few days responding to water line breaks throughout the community.

The spate started on Saturday when a waterline broke affecting Kelliview Avenue, Red Bridge Road and Dominion Place. The next day, a bigger rupture occurred on the main road in Kelligrews near Craig’s Lane and Walsh’s Lane. Sunday also saw a waterline burst affecting Chamberlains Road to Chaytors Road, and Tuesday crews were called out again, this time to make repairs to a break on Anchorage Road in Long Pond.

“This time of year it’s not uncommon to have a couple,” said Mayor Terry French, noting the ground can shift around a bit in the spring with the frost leaving the soil and the water table fluctuating. “And the other thing is, we’ve got water and sewer pipes in the ground in CBS for a long time and some of this stuff requires maintenance from time to time.”

French noted town staff conduct maintenance every year on the pressure reducing valves located throughout town to make sure the pressures on the pipes are appropriate. 

“Leaks are a common part of the business with water and sewer,” he said. “All municipalities have them from time to time, but this was unusual.”

Meanwhile, the work wasn’t affected too much by the social distancing measures in place throughout the country because the town workers have been issued masks with filters them on them as well as gloves and other safety equipment. “We’ve got some strict protocols in place,” French said. “And if you’re not working under the protocols that are laid out by our occupational health and safety (rules) there’s a price to be paid.”

French said as far as he is aware, there were no extra costs incurred to the town because of the breaks, as the work falls under its regular maintenance budget. But, he said, he expected to get a fuller report at a committee meeting set for Tuesday evening.

“It’s certainly unfortunate and people were affected,” said the mayor. “And some people were affected twice within 48 hours. That was unfortunate, but most people understand and certainly that’s appreciated.”