A boil order has been lifted in most areas of Saint John. The order went into effect after a massive water main break on the weekend, but questions about the city’s aging infrastructure remain.
Restaurant owner Peter Stoddart has made three runs for ice and bottled water since Saturday.
“We’ve got to run all over the place and spend 150 bucks on water and on ice and print the memos and make sure everybody knows what the process is,” he says.
The problem began Saturday morning when a 24-inch water main broke underneath Rothesay Avenue.
The cast-iron pipe is 140 years old and the frequent freezing and thawing cycles experienced in recent winters has taken its toll on the city’s underground infrastructure, especially on pipes that may have surpassed their best-before date.
In this case, city officials say age was more of a factor than weather.
“The vintage of the pipe, the age is definitely the biggest concern,” says municipal works engineer Kendall Mason. “And there are other transmission lines of that vintage that are still of concern.”
Cities all over the Maritimes are struggling with infrastructure issues, both above and below ground.
In Halifax, the Woodside ferry reopened Tuesday afternoon after a water line break over the weekend caused damage to Metro Transit’s terminal.
Test results on the Saint John water system have come back clean, though a small section of Rothesay Avenue near the break site remains under a boil order.
The line where the rupture occurred is due for replacement, if the city reaches a deal with federal and provincial governments to build a new water treatment system.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
