Esquimalt residents without running water frustrated with lack of info about repairs

Three children in Esquimalt, B.C., were wheeling totes full of water from a neighbouring condo building to their own home Monday morning. It was not how these three expected to begin their spring break.

"We woke up on Saturday morning to rushing water, a basement full of water," said Hollie Johnson, owner of a condo at 877 Ellery St. in Esquimalt on Monday.

Around 5 a.m. Saturday morning, the condo’s four inch waterline had ruptured, causing massive flooding in the basement of the building. Within hours, the water had been turned off to the building.

"The city was on it," said Jeremy Northeast, another owner in the building.

But that left all 27 units in the building without running water. Now, 48 hours later, the water continues to be off, and the elevator is out of service since it was flooded as well.

"A whole lot of nothing is what’s happening," said Northeast as he turned on his bathroom tap to show there was no water coming out.

That’s the reason for those totes of water that the children were bringing Monday morning.

The building’s strata council has a contract with Complete Residential Property Management to look after these sorts of problems. But owners say they have been left in the dark.

"We’re kind of left in that kind of (no man's land) where we don’t know if it’s going to get fixed or when," said Archer Krown, who lives in the building.

"No word from the property management company at all on what is going to take place or what the protocol is," added Northeast.

ANSWERS TO COME

CTV News reached out to the property management company on Monday to address the owners' concerns. In a statement, Complete Residential Property Management says:

"The break is located somewhere under the concrete slab of the parking garage. A structural engineer attended this morning and confirmed there was no cause for concern with the structure."

It went on to say work will begin shortly to find the leak and make the repairs. That could take some time as smaller equipment will be needed as crews will be working in the underground parkade.

An HVAC company has been hired to clear the elevator shaft of any water and repairs will begin soon to restore that service, according to Complete Residential.

As for restoring some sort of water service to the building in the meantime, the City of Victoria is hoping to find a way to temporarily source water from a nearby hydrant.

The building's insurance company is also looking into options such as access to a water truck service.

The property management company says it has now sent out an update to the owners of the building as of Monday afternoon.

"This one says have a good day," said Isabel Prieto, a seven-year-old who lives in the building who was bringing in water tootes.

"This one says thank you from 101," said Taylor Tylorsehlereth, another seven-year-old who lives in the building.

Those three children who are helping with water runs have also been leaving motivational notes outside of everyone’s doors in the building to help boost morale.

"We write like, 'good luck, we love your outfit, I love you' and we’re just trying to comfort everybody in the building who are having trouble with their water," said Julian Prieto, an 11-year-old.

They're positive messages for a concerned group of owners who wish answers would come sooner.