A water main break occurred in Seal Cove Circle in the early morning of Jan. 12, caused by the extreme cold faced by Prince Rupert and communities across B.C.
The city of Prince Rupert said Seal Cove Circle road should be re-opened by mid-afternoon after a 2 a.m. break to the water main.
There has been no change to Prince Rupert’s drinking water status, which currently has no advisory.
In October, after the most damaging water main break since the city’s pipes began to crumble, Mayor Herb Pond expressed his concern for the pipes in cold weather.
Pond was correct in his worries, as the first cold snap has seen pipes in Seal Cove break under the pressure of extremely frigid temperatures. When city contractors responded to the break at 2 a.m., the temperature was -12 C without wind chill.
The city is continuing to wait for $82 million in funding from the federal government Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, to which it applied in the summer.
“With the change in temperature we are absolutely concerned about the potential for more breaks and their increasing severity. We did see some relief earlier due to the milder winter, but we anticipate that may change given the major break on Seal Cove Circle last night,” said city of Prince Rupert communications director Veronika Stewart.
“This is why we have applied for substantial funding from the federal government to complete 26 km of priority repairs. If successful, we’ll be pursuing an aggressive capital replacement plan starting in the spring. In the meantime, our crews and contractors in the community are on standby to respond to potential escalating breaks in the coming weeks.”
Cold temperatures continued throughout the weekend.
READ MORE: Prince Rupert still awaiting federal funds after major water main break