‘Huge’ water main break causes flooding chaos in parts of downtown Montreal

globalnews.ca:

Jacques Cartier bridge in downtown Montreal’s east end were flooded on Friday morning after a major water main break occurred in the area.The water main break forced the evacuation of homes and offices in the area and also led to a boil water advisory for about 150,000 people who reside in the east end of the city.Montreal is still working to determine the cause of the break but officials said the pipe that burst was installed back in 1985 and is about 84 inches.Mayor Valérie Plante said that the water main break “was under control” after many who lived in the area were woken by firefighters who were urging them to get out of their homes because of the “geyser.’Lyman Zhu told the Canadian Press he woke up to what sounded like “heavy rain” and when he looked out his window saw a “wall of water” that was about 10 metres high and the width of the street. “It was insane,” he said.Maxime Carignan Chagnon said the “giant wall of water” gushed for about two hours.

The rushing water was “very, very strong,” he said, splashing as it crashed against lampposts and trees. “It was truly impressive.”He said about two feet of water collected in his basement, but “I heard some people had much, much more.”A number of streets in the area were closed due to the flooding, as was the bridge itself, which is a major throughfare into the city.Initially the city said they did not expect to issue a boil water advisory but one was issued about an hour later for a portion of the city below Sherbrooke Street in the boroughs of Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Rivière-des-Prairies — Pointe-aux-Trembles, and the on-island suburb of Montréal-Est.“The good news is that everything is under control,” Plante said.