READ MORE: Residents across the island of Montreal are without water because their pipes are frozen solid after this season’s cold freeze. Global’s Anne Leclair has more.
MONTREAL — Hundreds of residents across the island of Montreal are plagued with frozen water pipes and the current deep freeze is forcing the city’s pipe-thawing team to work around the clock to tackle the problem.
“This is a big job.”
“We have 25 blue collars working 12 hours per day right now to do this job. This is a huge problem and it’s going to cost a lot of money for us,” said Rosemont’s Mayor François Croteau.
“Our priority is to help citizens to get water again.”
The freezing conditions are forcing some residents to use the snow on their front lawn as a source of water.
Eric Couteau has been melting buckets of the white stuff in the bathtub since last Thursday. He uses the water to wash the children and the pile of dishes.
“It feels like camping.”
“It’s hard, complicated on a daily basis because I have a wife and three young kids,” said Couteau.
“It’s hard to manage all the toilets, preparation of the meals, washing the dishes.”
City workers said it’s been the worst year in decades for frozen pipes and the extreme cold is likely the culprit.
“I don’t remember a year like this since 1993 or 1995,” said Michel Payette, a city worker.
An estimated 300 residents in Rosemont have been affected by frozen pipes since last week, including a local daycare.
“Try to imagine, 60 children and a dozen educators working without running water for three days,” said CPE Rosemont director Serge Blais.
“We’re starting to get tired.”
The borough of Rosemont has managed to solve about 100 of the 150 calls since last week, but many are still being inconvenienced by the ongoing problem.
“It’s a problem,” said Geneviève Labelle.
“We have to find a place to go to pee everyday we have to find a way to do dishes.”
Fixing frozen pipes can be a tricky endeavor, even for experts. Typically, workers use a massive pipe-thawing machine and insert an electrical current through the drainpipe.
READ MORE: Thawing machines for frozen water pipes in Montreal in hot demand
In some cases it takes heavy machinery to excavate and locate the problem.
But not all Montrealers have access to city-funded services.
Beaconsfield has also seen a surge in frozen water pipes this year and repairs aren’t offered or covered by the city.
“We simply ask that they call their plumbers who are equipped with the appropriate equipment that we don’t have to actually go ahead and do the thawing of the water pipe,” said Andrew Duffield, Beaconfield’s Public Works Director.
Back in Rosemont, Eric Couteau’s life will be a lot easier from now on.
Workers managed to thaw the pipe in a matter of minutes.
“It feels like Christmas,” he said.
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