Ottawa’s environmental services chief says the city has set a 24-hour target for responding to new reports of frozen water service pipes, but the wait for a crews to thaw the pipes is a minimum of five days.
Dixon Weir said that as of 7 a.m. Thursday, the city was aware of 128 properties without access to drinking water due to frozen services. Of those, 32 sites had service frozen for longer than 72 hours.
Residents who report frozen services will be contacted by city crews who will assess the property and distribute bottled water. Weir said in a statement that all available staff have been working extended hours for almost a week to restore water to affected properties.
Additional electrical and steam thawing equipment has been dispatched, and temporary services have been provided to 38 locations that have been without water the longest. Affected residents can contact the city via 311 to request status updates.
