Local homeowner stressed over slow water main break repairs

A Regina man is frustrated with what he calls a lack of help by the city.

Edgar Regmin lives in the Normanview neighbourhood and said he’s been without running water since Monday.

He said multiple technicians have visited his home on the 0 block of Irvin Crescent in the past week. One person from the city even dug a hole across the street to see where the problem might be coming from but city crews haven’t returned since.

“Then we figured out on Wednesday that my neighbour’s house is flooded and their yard and their street in front of their house is collapsing,” Regmin said.

He went on to say the first technician that arrived on Monday said it was something to do with the pipes on the city’s side of the property line. But when Regmin’s family member called the city on Wednesday to see when the problem was going to be fixed, he was told a bit of a different story.

“They sent a tech and now the tech is saying the valve inside our house is broken — but it isn’t,” he said. “Now they said they won’t send anybody until we get that fixed.”

Regmin said in the meantime the city did provide an emergency water supply stationed outside their house. But he added with his family of four, they have things like laundry to do that’s quickly piling up.

City says water main breaks take time

Pat Wilson, waterworks manager for the City of Regina, said water main breaks take time to fix but it also takes work from both parties involved. She added she can’t comment on specific cases but did confirm they are dealing with a water main break on the 0 block of Irvin Crescent.

In general, Wilson said there are cases where the break on the city’s side is fixed but then it’s up to the homeowner to do their part if there’s a problem with their residential water line.

“We’re relying on (the homeowner) to work with their plumber or contractor to get their repair done and then we would get out as quickly as we could to finish the rest of the work,” Wilson said.

She added it’s also very important for homeowners to make sure their water valve found inside is in good shape by routinely testing it. Wilson said by testing the valve every three to five months or so it could potentially prevent future flooding in a basement if there were to be a water main break nearby.