Watermain rupture shuts down roads in Ontario town

A broken watermain is causing havoc and likely considerable damage to a residential neighbourhood in Clarington’s Courtice community.

Sandringham Drive in Courtice is closed between Stirling Avenue and Strathallan Drive “until further notice” due to a watermain break.

The damage is unknown at this time but the streets were completely flooded after the watermain ruptured on Sandringham, just south of Highway 2, just after midnight Tuesday.

Emergency crews were able to shut down the water quickly but motorists can expect road delays for the next few days for the repair.

Durham Regional Police and the Municipality of Clarington are asking drivers and pedestrians to avoid the area if possible and take alternate routes.

It is unknown at this time how long repairs to the watermain will take but the notice from the Municipality of Clarington will be updated as more information about the reopening becomes available.

The watermain on nearby Centrefield Drive ruptured in late 2024 – sending a geyser of water ten feet into the air – flooding the road and snarling traffic in the area. It was the second time that watermain had ruptured in the last five years.

In other road closure news in the area, the pedestrian tunnel on Bowmanville Avenue, between Waverly Road and Hartwell Avenue, will be temporarily closed beginning today (July 21) and running until August 5 for construction work as part of the Bowmanville Avenue reconstruction project.

Signs will be posted to guide pedestrians around the closure, and nearby businesses will remain open during the work.