CORNWALL – Water Street is living up to its name, as a water main break has affected customers around the intersection of Augustus Street Thursday afternoon.
The City of Cornwall says a 24-inch (61 centimeter) main broke around 3 p.m. Water could be seen bubbling to the surface in the westbound lanes and pooling as far away as the northeastern section of the intersection.
“City staff are assessing and isolating the break, which may cause significant water outages along Water Street,” the City said.
Affected customers are being contacted by the city.
The rupture was caused by a contractor striking the underground pipe, according to city councilman Justin Towndale.
This “break” was apparently caused by a contractor boring through the line. Folks: locates, locates, locates. Can’t stress this enough. Check before you dig. #cwlpoli https://t.co/buKLP3y1rO
— Justin Towndale (@JTowndale) May 24, 2018
The break has also affected traffic as the westbound lanes of Water Street are closed between Sydney Street and York Street. Eastbound traffic is unaffected.
The detour at Sydney Street has also created a traffic backlog on Sydney between Water and Second Streets.
It’s not known how long it will take for the repair to be made and when the water will be back on in the area.