Flooding closes Whitehorse local food market

A Whitehorse local food marketwill close for a while due to flooding damage.

Farmer Robert's was damaged on the evening of Feb. 13when a citywater main brokeunderneathWaterfront Place, a street off Quartz Road.

Robert Ryan a local farmer and the business owner said he got a call from a friend overnightsaying there was water gushing from inside the business.

Ryan said he arrived to find the concrete floorraised and crackedto the point that he couldn't open the front door.

"The pressure of the water lifted the concrete, inside and outside and it flooded the store," Ryan said.

Ryan said the pressure damagehas yet to be assessed.

Theconcrete appears to have cracked and risen by about 20 centimetres in some places, and there'salso an open hole beneath the storewhich was eroded by the water, he said.

'It seems like the foundation there has actually moved'

On Wednesday, one corner of the store was flooded with about three centimetres of water. Ryan said some floor tiles alsocracked due to rising water.

But the store's cafe corner was the most affected and "it seems like the foundation there has actually moved," Ryan said.

He is now dealing with insurance claims and said the business will have to close for the short term.

"I am waiting for city inspectors to saythe building is safe so we can clean up and reopen," he said.

The building still has powerwhich means the refrigerators are still humming. However Ryan is not sure what will happen to the fresh goods.

Workers dig through frozen ground

City of Whitehorsecrews were on site today beginning repairs to the water main. No other businesses on the street have reported damage.

Geoff Quinsey, who ismanager of the city's water and waste services, saidthe problemappears to have started about three-and-a-half metres underground, at a pipe that connects the water main to a fire hydrant.

Quinseysaid the juncture "has a number of mechanicalcomponents," and city crews will investigate the parts to find fault.

"Whereas the pipe is relatively structurally consistent, there are a whole bunch of bolts and joints that happen at a hydrant assembly so there's a number of potential places where a failure can startand propagate," he said.

Quinseysaidthe water followed the path of least resistance. Blocked by frozen ground, it emerged through the ground which was thawed under the store.

Traffic will be redirected on Waterfront Place tomorrow as crews continue to work on the repairs.