The municipality of La Tuque, Que., will shut off water to 5,000 residents and businesses for two days, beginning at midnight, for critical repairs to its water main system.
People in the town of 8,000 in the upper Mauricie region are being told to set aside at least four litres of drinkable water per person per day for drinking and cooking and to reserve another five to 12 litres of non-potable water in order to wash clothes, manually flush toilets or perform household chores.
The shutdown is necessary because the municipality is replacing a section of its antiquated water main near the source of La Tuque’s water supply.
The original water main is made of wooden slats held together by metal rings "like a wooden barrel," said communications director Hélène Langlais.
The owner of Rotisserie O Coq d’or has decided to soldier on, however.
The English-language La Tuque High School has been collecting rainwater in rain barrels for the past week, so staff and students will be able to wash their hands and keep the toilets flushing.
The municipality of La Tuque is placing portable toilets around town as it gets ready to shut off the water supply for the majority of its citizens for two days.
(Radio-Canada) The municipality is installing 127 portable toilets around the town and has brought in five cistern trucks filled with water to be used in case of emergencies, such as a fire.
‘Like 2 days of camping’ Mayor Pierre-David Tremblay said citizens are used to dealing with breakdowns in their water system, although he expects them to become less frequent after the repairs are completed.
with files from Claudie Simard, Radio-Canada