It could be weeks before things will return to normal for an Oak Bay neighbourhood that was flooded by a broken pipe on Tuesday.
Water bubbled out of a broken main for several hours after city crews tried to put in a new fire hydrant in the morning. By the time crews succeeded in shutting down the main, at least nine homes on Bowker Avenue had water inside.
Andrew Lapointe’s home was one of them. While the water is now gone, he estimates that he suffered from at least $25,000-worth of damage. He says his insurance company will be pursuing the city for the damages, but there are some things that just can’t be replaced.
“All of those drawing from (when my children were in) kindergarten, that’s the first thing my wife went to take away from the basement,” he said. “We can always replace the freezer, the fridge, the washing machine, but you can’t replace memories on paper.”
Zoe Bradshaw and Martin Scaia’s home is still uninhabitable, as restoration is expected to take six to eight weeks. The couple and their three kids are now living in a hotel. Many of Scaia’s tools were damaged, so he is unable to work.
“We’re concerned about outlay of money, just to make sure we can make our mortgage in eight days, and the bills are coming in,” said Bradshaw.
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen says the city is doing what it can to help residents.
“Could we have done a better job? That remains to be seen,” he said. “Again I’ve asked senior staff to look into our response, and that would include responding to people with specific concerns and we need to hear about them and what they are.”
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Ed Watson
