Water service for East Lavington residents is expected to be restored on Monday afternoon.
Water service was out overnight for hundreds of residents as the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) worked to repair a large transmission water main.
The RDNO said it had to turn off the water to roughly 500 customers around 10 p.m. Sunday evening, after an air release valve on the water main failed.
The valve normally allows trapped air in the pipe to escape, but it broke around 4:30 p.m. and was allowing water to escape.
The water needed to be shut off so part of the water main could be drained to allow repairs to take place, said John Lord, the RDNO’s manager of water distribution.
On Monday morning, Lord said crews began to refill the transmission main and were hoping to fully restore water by early afternoon.
Intially the regional district had warned residents their water could be off till Monday evening.
“We originally didn’t really know how long it was going to be because we couldn’t see the problem,” Lord said.
What lead to the air valve breaking is unknown, although Lord said weather conditions may have contributed.
The situation also damaged a road that will need to be repaired, Lord said.
The utility has warned customers when service is restored they might see cloudy water.
“Please run your bathtub as well as other taps and appliances on cold water until the water runs clear,” the utility said in a statement to the media.
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