Islands without water after main break
Contract worker drilled into pipe causing outage, closing school, yacht club
Water service returned to Toronto Islands Thursday evening after a burst water main, near Billy Bishop Airport, left the area flooded and without running water, and forced closures on the Toronto Islands.
Toronto Water said that while drilling around 10 a.m., a contract worker accidentally went through the water main at Queens Quay W. and Eireann Quay, damaging the piping that delivers water to the airport and the Toronto Islands.
The break affected washrooms in the airport’s lounges, and people were unable to use the facilities. Water stopped running on parts of Toronto Island.
Water service on the Islands was out for about eight hours, only getting fully restored at 5:40 p.m. according to Toronto Water.
The TDSB notified parents in an audio recording that the Island Public School was closing due to the water outage. Students were taken by bus to Nelson Mandela Park Public School at 440 Shuter St.
Parents could pick up their children at Jack Layton Ferry Terminal between 1:30 and 2 p.m., the recording said.
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club also tweeted it had closed its Island Clubhouse for the day since there was no running water.
The airport brought in portable toilets and washrooms for passengers, while City of Toronto crews worked at the scene of the break. The city said, while water service had been restored, permanent repairs to the water main would only be completed by early Friday morning.
Toronto Police were on scene, helping conduct traffic.
The airport advised people to take extra time to arrive for flights. Tunnel and ferry services were not affected and flights were not delayed.