Officials with the City of Montreal have identified 13 water main breaks on its secondary network.
The pipe problems are in boroughs across the island, including Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Sud-Ouest, Ville-Marie, Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointes-aux-Trembles and Verdun.
Seven of the water main breaks call for urgent repairs, while the other six are expected to be fixed by Monday or Tuesday next week.
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The city explained it’s possible the breakages were caused while work was being done on a large 48-inch water pipe.
“When they shut down the main water pipe, that has an effect that caused the jump of the pressure,” explained Philippe Sabourin, a spokesperson with the City of Montreal.
“They broke because they’re old, they’re fragile.”
The ageing pipes make it difficult to withstand a change in pressure, Sabourin said.
In each case, the pressure was either low, or water was being directed elsewhere.
City officials reported one case of flooding in the Des Ormeaux/Hochelaga area.
There were four water main breaks in the Sud-Ouest since Saturday; there was a boil water advisory in place, but it was recently lifted.
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In Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointes-aux-Trembles, a boil water advisory was distributed door-to-door near 6th avenue.
So far, two of the four water main breaks in Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointes-aux-Trembles have been fixed.
Other than that, it is still unclear how many of the water mains need to be repaired.