SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - School Draw Avenue residents have city workers to thank for the speedy fix of their water lines after blasting by a construction company damaged the water main, a public works supervisor says.

A water main break caused by a construction crew blasting in the area flooded the condominium construction site on Aug. 5. - Ian Vaydik/NNSL photo

A water main was ruptured Aug. 5 when a construction crew building a new apartment and condo complex was blasting near the water main around School Draw Avenue and 49 Street.

A write-up posted Monday on the city's website homepage praises the work of public works employees Brian Cole and Cameron O'Keefe in restoring water service to homes and businesses shortly after the incident.

O'Keefe and Cole reacted quickly when they were dispatched to the scene, and worked through their lunch hour to repair the main, according to Scot Gillard, assistant superintendent of water and sewer with the City of Yellowknife.

Gillard said the fast thinking of the two men saved the city a headache.

"There was the potential of damage to facilities in the downtown core," he said, adding he wouldn't speculate on the costs if damage had occurred. "The longer the water system is down you have the possibility of burning out circulating pumps and burning out pumps within our own system and then running different areas out of water."

He said the two men didn't waste any time, and found the correct water line to shut off. The two then worked with the construction crew to dig out the area around the main so they could access the break and cap it.

Gillard said water service was restored to the downtown core within half an hour of the break.

He explained four houses in the School Draw area were without water until 2:30 p.m., which he said was due to the way the water had to be shut off to the main.

Gillard said he wants others to know the two men did a good job.

"To be quite honest, it doesn't happen enough," Gillard said about positive reinforcement in the workplace." These guys do deserve recognition because they did go over and above the call of duty that day... they did quite well and exceeded my expectations."

Cole has been working with the city for more than 20 years, and started when he was a teenager, according to Gillard.

O'Keefe has spent about a decade working with the city.

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