THUNDER BAY — The city has decided to dig another hole.
In their efforts to locate a water main break on Fort William Road, city workers are excavating at a third location according to a media release issued Tuesday afternoon.
"Staff continue to excavate and search for the leak. They will remain on site into the evening to expose another section of the main near First Avenue on Fort William Road," said David Warwick, the superintendent for water distribution and wastewater collection, in a written statement.
There is no timeline for returning the main to service at this point.
Earlier in the day, city workers had been digging a second hole at the entrance to the Roots Community Food Centre.
"The third hole is probably good news for us," said Erin Beagle, the executive director at the Roots Community Food Centre. "I can see city vehicles coming and going from our driveway, so it looks like it's accessible."
Access to the building is still restricted by the partial road closure on Fort William Road, said Beagle. Anyone driving to the centre would have to come from the north, she said.
Despite the disruption, a meal planned at the centre for 4 p.m. Wednesday is still going ahead.
Parking will be available at the Moose Hall next door, said Beagle, and hopefully at the centre itself.
"Big thank you to the Moose for being flexible and generous for allowing our volounteers, staff and diners to continue parking at their space."
In the morning, Beagle, said the organization has mixed feelings about the new development.
“Initially, we were told that they were going to maybe have to cut down some trees and that doesn’t look like that’s happening anymore, so we’re actually quite relieved about that because the trees have a huge value to this building and our city,” said Beagle
However, she said with their driveway possibly right where they’re looking for the leak, it’s disruptive.
“Luckily, today is not a meal day. We have a meal tomorrow,” said Beagle.
In the meantime, water was rediverted for the centre’s and a few houses in the area and the building remains fully functional, with repairs and remediation undertaken in the flooded front half of the dining room.
Beagle said restoration company Winmar has been incredibly responsive in getting things done and told them that by the time Wednesday's meal is ready to be served the centre should be clear and ready to go.
An air purification system is also being used to address sand and silt.
“It’s not our personal property. It’s a company that we have the capacity to deal with and our personal belongings aren’t here,” said Beagle.
“So, I really feel like the houses in this neighbourhood are affected in a totally different way that is much more disruptive and devastating to their day-to-day lives.”
Beagle explained that the city had done a lot of work with the pumping station and getting the floodway cleared out, but neighbours have raised concerns and notified crews yesterday that some of the water was coming up again.
While Beagle and her staff hadn’t noticed the issue at the centre, she added that they are visually monitoring what the floodway.
“We always get a lot of water in the spring in the backyard here. It’s just kind of how that is,” said Beagle.
“So yeah, we’re not super worried about it in that sense.”
However, she said part of her gets a little bit worried about the cold coming this weekend and what will happen with all the water around the building, getting into all these spaces and freezing.
“That’s something that we’ll cross when we get there and hoping that the folks who know best will take care of it,” said Beagle.
With the flooding towards the back of the building and a sinkhole near one of the trees at the front, she explained the centre would also need some repair and an assessment of the property and its foundation to ensure no long-term ill effects.
The centre plans to deliver 20 $50 gift cards for its community food market to neighbourhood residents this afternoon to provide some stress relief for the toll of the flooding.
This story has been updated with new information.
