Dallas goes dry thanks to water main break

KAMLOOPS – No showers were had, no dishes washed and no laundry was done in up to 50 homes in Dallas for almost a day.

The culprit was a weather-related water main break around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The city of Kamloops’ utilities services manager Mike Firlotte says they sent out their crew when they got the call Saturday night and turned off the water. At least one yard and basement was flooded.

Firlotte says they worked to repair the main until about 2 a.m. Sunday but had to send the crew home. It was just too dark to work safely. They returned Sunday at 9 a.m. and he hoped to have the repair finished, and the water back on, by suppertime.

The problem was a coupling on the line had come loose. It’s something that can happen with the temperature changes.

One resident on Chukar Drive was extremely irrate with the city's response according to CFJC. Jim McNaughton was unhappy he had to hire a contractor to pump out his basement and yard.

“Like every other city we legally can’t go onto people’s private property. It’s a liability issue for us,” Firlotte says. “We can’t even suggest a contractor to do it (the restoration work).”

“If a homeowner feels he wants to put a claim into the city he’s more than welcome to do that. Our risk management group does an investigation and determines if there’s fault or not.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331.