SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Trang Phan is tired of the construction work on Range Lake Road that is cutting off her water supply and interfering with the business she manages.

Trang Phan, manager of Joie de Vivre, says the spa has to give discounts or reschedule appointments when crews shut off water on Range Lake Road, which is currently undergoing heavy construction. - Terrence McEachern/NNSL photo

"Sometimes they shut down the water on weekends, and it's hard for us to do business over here," said Phan, manager of Joie de Vivre located on Range Lake Road. "We're a salon and a spa so we need a lot of water for washing hair, body treatment and manicures and pedicures."

She said on Sept. 14, the salon lost more than $2,000 because the water was shut off and customers either had to be rescheduled or given discounts. On average, the salon has about 40 customers a day.

Joie de Vivre has two floors with seven rooms, including several tanning booths, four showers, a washer and dryer and a jet tub. All of the rooms use water to some capacity, she said.

Besides shutting off the water completely, she said there are times the water is "just dripping" out of the taps. These interruptions in water service can last for several hours, which has caused the salon to reschedule a lot of appointments and lose some business.

David Wong, owner of Joie de Vivre, said he hasn't complained to the city directly but did complain to one of the workers. He said he understands the construction company has a job to do and the work needs to be done, but added his business has lost customers over the summer due to the construction.

"Our sales are way down, and this is supposed to be our busiest season," he said.

Chris Greencorn, manager of Public Works and Engineering for the city, said NWT Construction - the company currently working on Range Lake Road - is behind schedule and was recently granted an extension "until they get it done."

The project was supposed to be finished on Sept. 15, he said. The work is part of a $1.5 million water and sewer contract awarded to NWT Construction for work performed across the city this summer. He said the company was scheduled to lay down asphalt this week and begin paving shortly.

Greencorn said the city has received complaints about the construction, but for the most part, the public has been accommodating. "The biggest complaints we've had are water interruptions," he said. "It doesn't matter if this happened in July or in October, the water interruptions have to happen anyway. When we're replacing water mains, you obviously have to shut off water."

If the water needs to be shut down, Greencorn said it's the responsibility of the contractor to notify all affected businesses either in person or by phone. Phan said the salon has received two notices that the water was going to be shut down temporarily since construction work began July 29. The city is also notified so it can try to warn customers at least two days in advance by posting the information on the city's website or through radio or newspaper notices. But Greencorn said there are times when an emergency shutdown can occur without the adequate time needed to notify customers. He added the construction crews are asked to plan water interruptions ahead of time and try to restore water service as quickly as possible.

Greencorn said he understands residents and business owners are complaining that their water is being shut down without notice, but the city appreciates the patience the public has demonstrated so far. He said the city hasn't received any complaints from perhaps the largest consumer of water in the area - St. Joseph School.

Steve Dinham, manager of Sam's Monkey Tree Pub, also located on Range Lake Road, said the pub hasn't experienced any loss in business as a result of construction work.

But Terry Greene, manager of Northern Fancy Meats on neighbouring Woolgar Avenue just off Range Lake Road, said construction work has at times made him feel like the business was "cut off" but customers still found their way to the store most of the time. Some weekends he's noticed that business has been down and suspects the construction work was the cause. Greene said he's looking forward to the work being completed. "Oh, Lord yes, I sure do," he said.

Rod Hildebrandt, general manager of NWT Construction, could not be reached for comment by press time.

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