‘It’s like a river’
Kentville water transmission main break result of Chester Avenue construction
Residents living near Chester Avenue can be forgiven if they went looking for an ark Oct. 14.
A water transmission main break that occurred late in the afternoon sent rivers of water from Chester Avenue into neighbouring Mill Run, leaving some residents concerned about their properties.
“It’s like a river,” said Jeremy Paruch, a resident of Mill Run. “It started up on Chester and it’s just running down the hill. I heard one woman say she’d never seen anything like it before. I really feel bad for the people on the hill.”
Paruch says his backyard filled with water because the storm sewer could not keep up with the initial flow. Luckily, he says, his home itself didn’t flood.
“It flooded through my property, my neighbour’s property was practically a swamp,” he said.
“My home is on a concrete slab and I’m worried I’m going to see water where I shouldn’t be seeing it. What I saw last before it got stopped they seemed to be trying to patch it, but there’s still water coming.”
Neighbours were gathering to watch the cleanup efforts underway, he added, and many were upset about the situation, particularly residents located closest to the problem on Chester Avenue.
In a statement issued jointly from engineering and public works director Fred Whynot and town chief administrative officer Mark Phillips on behalf of the Kentville Water Commission shortly after 7 p.m., area residents were advised that crews were on scene repairing the break and water service would likely remain interrupted until midnight.
Phillips confirmed via email that the break was related to ongoing work underway along Chester Avenue to upgrade 1.4 kilometres of sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water mains in the area.
In a follow-up email sent shortly after 11:15 p.m., Phillips confirmed the transmission main had been repaired and water for the impacted streets - Chester Avenue south of Sheriff Lane, Mill Run, residents in the county in the Baltsar Subdivision and sections of Prospect Road and Canaan Avenue both in the town and the county – would have their water service turned on overnight.