Service Disruptions

Watermain Break Update: Santa’s Village Road (Muskoka Road 15)

The weather today has triggered a watermain break in the Santa’s Village Road area and caused a temporary water interruption to many customers in the Town of Bracebridge.

District of Muskoka crews remain onsite and are repairing the watermain break – the issue should be resolved soon.

• Many customers have already been restored – flushing is planned as a result of this watermain break
• While the water is safe, the flushing could result in cloudy of coloured water
• This will clear if a cold water tap is run for a short time
• Crews remain onsite on Santa’s Village Road and are completing repairs  

A road closure is planned while crews work to finish the repair:

• (closure emoji) Santa’s Village Road will be fully closed at Brofoco starting now, until approximately 7:00 p.m. this evening (Friday, March 17, 2023)
• (thumbs up) Water has been restored to most residents in the area, it shouldn’t be long for everyone else - thank you for your patience.      

For more information about what to do after a watermain break please see below.

What to do after experiencing a watermain break

Residents can use any municipal public drinking water tap in Muskoka. There are taps located in each area municipality and can be found at the link below.

Public Drinking Water Tap Locations

• Store one gallon of water per person per day for 3 days
• As long as municipal tap water is stored in a clean, airtight container and in a cool location, the water should remain safe indefinitely
• As a general rule it is recommended to change the emergency water supply at least once every six months

By downloading the Voyent Alert! app and registering, residents and visitors can select to receive notifications from a wide variety of communication channels including mobile apps, text/SMS alerting, email or voice calling.  The system will also allow you to create and track multiple locations such as “Kids School”, “Work”, “Cottage” or “Mom’s House”.   Any event or communication related to your tracked locations will be forwarded to you along your preferred communication channel(s).   Smart alerting capabilities ensure that you will only get notified when a communication is relevant to you or one of the locations you are tracking. More information on our AlertMuskoka page.

If there's an emergency, you will need to know this information ahead of time. You can't afford to waste precious time searching while the basement floods or the carpets are drenched.

Most common locations for the master valve are where the main water pipe enters your home, near the washing machine hook-up or near your water heater. Best to check and make certain you and your family know where it is!

• Insulate your outside water pipes with specially designed foam pipe covers or heating tape available from most hardware stores
• Heat your crawl space
• Open cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate
• In extreme cold weather consider leaving a tap open enough to allow a stream of water to flow
• Know where your main shut off is located in case of an emergency

 
Leaving for the winter?  

• If you are on municipal services, consider having your service shut off at the street and your lines drained
• If you are on privates services, arrange for a plumber to winterize your dwelling
• Keep your thermostat set at 15 degrees Celsius or higher

Pipes Already Frozen? 

• If you suspect your pipes are frozen, try using a hair dryer directed where your line enters the home - never use an open flame or torch
• Call a plumber, it may take a professional to determine where it is frozen and a thawing machine may be needed
• Once it is thawed, leave a tap running

Municipal Services Frozen? 

• A plumber can determine if the line is frozen on the municipal side and notify the District of Muskoka Water and Wastewater field staff
• 24/7 contact information is available - see below