Water Service Disruptions

On occasion you may experience water service disruptions due to water main breaks or maintenance and repair activities. We do our best to try and keep disruptions to your water service to a minimum. If you have any questions or concerns please contact 311.

Water Main Breaks 

Water mains are underground pipes that move water from water treatment plants and municipal groundwater wells to homes and businesses in Greater Sudbury. With several hundred kilometres of water mains, our city is routinely fixing and maintaining them.

Water main breaks happen because:

  • Infrastructure is getting older (age of pipes),
  • Pipes become corroded,
  • Construction causes the ground to shift ,
  • Weather conditions - many water main breaks happen in the winter because ground water freezes and expands and puts pressure on pipes which causes them to crack or break.

Water Main Maintenance 

Every spring and summer, a portion of the city’s water main network is scheduled for cleaning to maintain the quality of municipal drinking water. This is done through a process called flushing and swabbing.

  • Flushing uses high speed water pressure to clean pipes. You may notice discoloured water and/or low water pressure. Learn more about common water concerns.
  • Swabbing uses a soft material to clean sediment from water mains.

Water Main Maintenance in Your Neighbourhood

If your neighbourhood is scheduled for swabbing, you will receive a hand delivered notice. Swabbing is typically scheduled overnight to minimize the impact to customers. Significant and large impact notices will be posted on our News and Public Notices web page, Twitter and Facebook.

Before water main cleaning begins in your neighbourhood, you should:

  • Store water in the refrigerator for cooking and drinking.
  • Finish laundry and dish washing prior to the scheduled swabbing time.
  • Fill your bathtub with water for washing hands and flushing toilets
  • Make sure you turn off the main water valve inside your home to avoid getting dirt into household plumbing during swabbing operations.