MONTREAL -- More than 340 Cote-des-Neiges households that have had their water shut off since Saturday will go another night in the same situation, the borough said Monday evening.
It’s been a long three days for people living near Plamondon and Victoria. The city cut off the supply in that area around noon on Saturday to repair an aqueduct that broke and flooded Victoria Ave. early that morning.
But the water still isn't back on, leaving more than 340 households without running water ever since.
Each morning, including Saturday, residents have been lining up with jugs to retrieve water from a city truck. Tuesday will be their fourth day in a row after the borough announced around 5 p.m. Monday that the break still wasn’t repaired.
“With food, you can go out and get something to eat,” said one person who was part of the unlucky group.
“But personal cleanliness, especially with the bathroom and also cleaning the kitchen or dining room, it's extremely hard.”
One resident said a city worker in a truck parked at a street corner on Sunday night handed out packages of four gallons of water, which she carried home over two trips.
Aging infrastructure creates the need for extra precautions during repairs, borough mayor Sue Montgomery told CTV.
“What happens is you get a break in one place, and then you don't want other breaks to be happening down the line, so you turn it off while you’re doing the repairs,” she said.
On Sunday, the city said the water would likely be turned off until Monday and that it hoped repairs would be finished by the end of the day on Monday.
This closure impacts residents living on Victoria Ave. between Carlton Ave. and Plamondon Ave., as well as residents on Plamondon Ave. between Victoria Ave. and Lavoie St. Though the repairs impact a small part of the borough, it is densely populated.
