Water main break means 8,000 Kamloops households without water

UPDATE — May 13, 9 a.m. PT: The Kamloops-Thompson School District says five schools will re-open Wednesday, while R.L. Clemitson Elementary will stay closed as the school remains without water.

The re-opened schools include: Dallas Elementary, Ralph Bell Elementary, Juniper Ridge Elementary, Marion Schilling Elementary, and Valleyview Secondary. Water service has returned to the schools, but the district says the water is not consumable.

Around 8,000 households in Kamloops, B.C., will be without piped water for at least one more day after efforts to repair a water main break near the city’s downtown were unsuccessful.

Officials said on Tuesday that crews identified the break in a 500-millimetre main along River Street, and that water is cut off for people living east of the site, including in the neighbourhoods of Rose Hill, Barnhartvale, Juniper Ridge, Dallas and Campbell Creek.

In an update at 5:10 p.m. PT, the city said repair efforts were unsuccessful and the system remained compromised.

“Crews are implementing a secondary plan that involves a more robust repair,” the city said in the update.

In its update, the city said that repairs would take place starting Wednesday morning, once crews filled up reservoirs to re-establish water service to the area.

“Impacted properties must continue to avoid water use to allow reservoirs to replenish,” the update reads.

The city identified the issue on Monday and told residents to conserve water.

“We’re putting people into an uncomfortable situation for a short term,” said Joe Luison, City of Kamloops civic operations assistant director and public works divisional manager, earlier on Tuesday.

However, Luison said people were using more water than expected and the city had to shut it off to prevent the reservoirs from being drained, which could potentially contaminate the water supply. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the city said boil water advisories and “do not consume” orders will remain in place for affected residents once repairs were completed and water testing was completed.

The city said the results from the testing could take up to a week to receive from the proper authorities.

The city said it will have trucks with non-potable water at six locations in the affected areas so people can continue to use toilets. It is also working with Kamloops Fire Rescue to ensure there are water tenders on standby, in case a fire breaks out while supply is cut off.

Ron McCall, who lives in the affected area, was down at a water filling station on Tuesday morning to gather drinking water.

He had said he’s happy with how the city has been handling the break.

“This is something that happens. Fortunately, it’s not too bad.”

Luison said once water is restored, people will be asked not to resume normal water use until the city’s reservoirs are back to normal levels.

“When we turn this tap on, we need to fill thousands and thousands of litres of reservoirs so getting it to the residents is key, but also getting full fire suppression back in the area as well.”

The Kamloops Thompson School District had also closed six schools Tuesday that were without water. 

Luison said the cost of repairing the break will be covered by city reserves.