Water main break in Vernon

Photo: Google Street View

The water main break occurred at the corner of 31st Avenue and 32 Street in Vernon.

A large water main break in downtown Vernon early this morning is causing problems throughout the city.

City crews were quickly on scene of the “significant” 10-inch break shortly after it happened, sometime between midnight and 1 a.m.

Tanya Laing Gahr, communications spokesperson with the City, says residents in some areas may experience a drop in water pressure.

“And what the engineers are telling us is that it’s a significant break, however it’s also an isolated break,” she says.

“Right now there is one block without water, and it’s the block that is adjacent to the Vernon Art Gallery. Those are the businesses that are affected.”

Crews are currently on site and expect to have the water lines back up and running within a few hours. Laing-Gahr goes on to say there will be ongoing road repair around the area and barricades will be up until tomorrow.

There are reports that the art gallery has suffered some water damage and there may be pooling in the city parkade. 

“It happened in the middle of the night so there was some road flooding and (crews) isolated the main break fairly quickly,” says Zee Marcolin, Greater Vernon Water manager.

“I never heard that it was still flooded in the morning. It was running down the street and would have gone into the storm drains.”

The city is also warning residents they may experience dirty water running from their taps, and if that’s the case, you should run your cold water taps until they are clear.

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