Since Family Day, Guelph has been averaging about one water main break every day, city officials say.
“This was a great winter, up until the beginning of February,” said Blair Caldwell, a supervisor in the city’s water department.
Over the weekend, it was Matthew Hayday’s turn to deal with one of the breaks.
Returning home Saturday night from a warm-weather vacation, he was met with a rude surprise.
“We came home to find (that) we had no water in the house at all,” he says.
The next morning, he and his partner noticed water shooting out into the street in front of their home.
City crews began working to repair the water main break, and Hayday says he’s happy with their prompt response – even if they had to dig up part of his driveway to get at the problem.
“I was amazed that they had people out in the wee hours of the morning,” he says.
After that, it was the downtown’s turn to feel the weath of a water main break.
Monday morning, employees of the Acqua Hair Salon on Wyndham Street arrived at work to find themselves without running water.
The business went two days without water—although the city was quick to offer them bottled water as a replacement.
“We’re a hair salon, so I don’t think bottled water could do too much,” says owner Pina Marfisi.
A temporary water line has since been installed.
