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Friday, November 23, 2012 F
Watch for breaking news at www.oakbaynews.com
“I’m really angry about the response. … We were left to figure things out on our own.” - Cory Heavener
DISASTER Watermain break on Bowker Avenue forces residents from homes as waves of water flood basements, lower levels
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PLEASE SEE: Residents left to pick up the pieces, Page A3
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Oak Bay municipal worker Adam Gow carries sandbags after a watermain break on the corner of Eastdowne Road and Bowker Avenue.
Who’s in charge?
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here was a major watermain break in the 2000block of Bowker Ave., between Cadboro Bay Road and Eastdowne Road in Oak Bay on Tuesday morning (Nov. 20). It forced the evacuation of approximately 20 homes on Bowker Ave. and caused some residents to question the effectiveness of the municipality’s response to the event. Cory Heavener, whose mother Diane, lives on the block, said that her mother arrived home at 9 a.m. to find the street flooding and water running into her basement. More than two hours later, her basement was completely flooded and, according to Heavener, her mother had still received no information on what she should be doing. Diane Heavener said that she tried to speak to the Public Works crews to get direction, but was told, “they were too busy” to talk to her. She finally called the fire department when she saw that her basement heating oil tank was submerged. “I’m really angry about the response,” said Cory. “No one came door to door to tell us what to do. We Tim Collins were left to figure things out on our own.” Reporting Oak Bay Public Works operations manager, Joe Brooks said they were aware of the watermain break at about 9 a.m. when a 16-inch feeder line that runs through Oak Bay ruptured. Brooks said crews immediately tried to shut down the line, but the task was complicated by the many feeder lines emanating from the mainline at the site of the break. By noon, the water was still flowing and staff had been dispatched to Lansdowne Road where a main shutoff valve for the community is located. The flow was stopped from that location, giving crews time to repair the damage.
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Zoe Scaia Bradshaw puts a rug from her flooded basement on the sailboat the family has parked in their driveway on Bowker Avenue.
The Oak Bay Emergency Services Program was moved from a volunteer agency to staff control in 2003. The fire chief acts as the program’s coordinator. When the program is activated, the fire department acts as a broker for all other emergency, medical, utility and policing services, with its on-site incident command officer assessing needs and making the required contacts. “As soon as a responding agency begins to be overwhelmed with an incident, we should be called,” said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Cockle. “The situation (on Bowker Ave.) was a good example of where we were needed.” The program also coordinates the work of dozens of volunteers who assist in hands-on community response services.
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