The water service line to a resident's home erupts. Now what?

We often take for granted the infrastructure around our homes, until something goes wrong. What would you do if water was spewing from your driveway due to a damaged water line? The most logical reaction would be to contact your local municipality to investigate the damage. But the answer you don’t want to hear is, “The damage is on the residential side. I’m sorry, but it’s your responsibility.”

This is what happened to a couple in Manitouwadge. Repairing the damage would have cost them over $10,000 and for a low-income family, that’s hard to swallow. 

So where does the municipality come in? LAS partners with Service Line Warranties of Canada (SLWC) to offer the Sewer and Water Line Warranty program, which must be approved and endorsed by a municipal council, even though it is an option service available directly to residents in the municipality. 

It is a guaranteed warranty repair service in case a sewer or water line breaks or is blocked on the residential side. The program has a monthly fee, but there are no deductibles for service, and local contractors are used where available. 

The Manitouwadge couple wasn’t aware that their municipality had already endorsed the SLWC program, until their neighbour, from whom they had been using water, experienced a similar problem with their water line. The only difference was their neighbour had subscribed to the optional warranty program and their issue was repaired within a few days. 

The Manitouwadge couple called SLWC to inquire about the Program. They were too late to benefit from the warranty for the current incident, but they were referred to SLWC CARES, which is a service for low-income residents. After nearly 16-months of no running water, the Manitouwadge couple had their water line repaired in only four hours by a local contractor.

SLWC CARES has completed nine repairs across Ontario in the last three years, valued at over $20,000 in pro-bono repair work. If a resident is not enrolled in the Sewer and Water Line Warranty program, but needs repair, they can contact SLWC CARES to fill out the application form to see if they qualify. 

For more information about the LAS endorsed SLWC Sewer and Water Line Warranty program, please visit our website.