A sudden temperature spike of over 20° C in Edmonton has caused several water pipe bursts around the city.
The surprising increase in temperature resulted in rapid thawing, which in turn caused pressure to build within some of the city’s water pipes. Pipes that could not withstand the tremendous pressure eventually burst, causing considerable water damage.
CBC News reported that Edmonton Fire Rescue Services responded to 39 calls related to water pipes between 6pm Monday and 7:20am Tuesday.
“At times throughout the night, we had three or four calls going,” Edmonton Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Maya Filipovic said, adding that the calls mostly came from homes, apartments, and businesses.
One such victim of the pipe bursts, the Ramada Edmonton South hotel, saw one of its large sprinkler lines erupt, flooding a pull-through parking circle.
“Basically, it was, ‘Oh, my gosh, where do we begin?’” said Ramada Edmonton South general manager Marscine Pankewicz. “You can’t panic. It’s happened.”
Allan Fortier, a hotel guest, noted that the water gushed from the pipe for about 45 minutes.
“It was just water crashing out of that building on to the roof,” he told
CBC News. “It looked like it tore a hole in the roof.”
Although the pipe had been capped and the area closed off, Pankewicz was unsure of the extent of the water damage.
Pankewicz shared that she had called the hotel’s insurance provider, and was notified that the wait time to speak with someone would be 35 minutes.
“I just understand we’re not the only ones in Edmonton,” she remarked.
“With the two weeks of drastic weather that Edmonton has experienced here lately, it’s not something that’s a surprise to me.”
CBC News also reported that Edmonton Fire Rescue Services had responded to pipe burst-related flooding incidents at Northgate Centre, the West Edmonton Village recreation centre and an apartment building with commercial storefront along Stony Plain Road at 159th Street.
The non-profit iHuman in downtown Edmonton was also affected by a burst pipe. The flooding was so severe that the organization remained closed despite plans to reopen after the holidays.
“You can’t always plan for these kinds of things,” iHuman executive director Catherine Broomfield said. “You just have to roll with it.”
Related stories:
Construction risks: Water damage is the new fire
A quarter of Quebec homebuyers say they ran into issues after purchasing a property: Survey
