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Tell me, why is it that disasters seem to always fall upon us on the weekend? Usually Sunday at midnight. We sud- denly need a doctor when his omce is closed - or have an aching tooth and can't reach the den- tist - the power fails and all you get is the electrician's answering machine - or a pipe bursts and you have to look for a plumber while your base- ment is flooded? And I can tell you there was a lot of chatter, chatter around here, as a flow of water sud- denly burst from the ground behind a number of our units and threatened to go on forever. Alfred Lord Tennyson in this poem, “The Brook", once wrote, "I chat- ter, chatter, as I flow, / To join the humming river, / For men may come and men may go. / But I go on forev- er." Well, at our condo the other night, we had our own humming river. Why do disasters qccur on the weekend? But what could be done? No one - including the work- man - had any idea where to look for the cut-off valve. Where does one determine the loca- tion of this vital The first thing that had to be done, of course, was to turn off the stream of water before any thought of repairing the damaged water main could be con- sidered. Steps had been taken to call the Public Works Department and by the time I was roused, an official had arrived to see what was happen- ing. Well, that's what happened to us last Sunday at midnight. lwas in my pajamas when there was a pounding on our front door. A unit owner, very dis- turbed and wonder- ing what should be done because water was gushing out of the ground between two townhouse blocks and was pouring down the property in a raging torrenL Of course, one of the first steps we took was to contact our manager. After some rather lengthy ringing of the tele- phone, a sleepy voice responded. Rising to the occa- sion. he was able to arrange for a firm who was willing to round up a aew and send them here post haste. This is the was pounng out or the ground in an ever increasing flood. Where do you find a sewer contractor who is ready to dispatch a crew, hoping to locate the source of the break before we were washed away? This was truly a learning experience for our board. No one had the slightest idea about the lay- out of the water mains beneath our property. In the meantime, the water was pouring out of the ground in an piece of equipment. The city official scurried off some- where to try and fine some plans that would enable us to stem this flood before we were washed away. After some time, a.m., the sewer con- we were able to tractor arrived with locate a set of plans a complete crew. which reputably The regional water described where the people finally deter- tum off valves for mined where the each unit block water shut-off valve were located. This was located and the would have been nooding was fine if the break in stopped. the water line was In the meantime, limited to a particu- we had no water in lar block but wasn't any unit. Owners sort of situation where knowledge- able and experi- enced management can earn their fees through knowing whom to turn to when the chips are down. of any use in our major break. In the meantime, the city man retumed but he still didn't have a clue as to where to locate the main water line valve. Around 2:00 a.m., the sewer con- tractor arrived with a complete crew. The regional water people finally deter- mined where the water shut-off valve learned a few lessons from this experience. One of the problems that occur due to the turnover of Directors on the Board, knowledge - for shaving or washing; it certainly brought home how dependent we are on those municipal services that we take so much for granted. about the vital ser- vice facilities tends were reduced to melting ice cubes to make coffee in the morning. There were no showers, no water - hot or cold hope to get lost, or forgot- ten. I would recom- mend that condo officials make sure that the where- abouts of all aspects of the service equip- ment of your corpo- ration be readily available at all times and this applies to water, sewer, elec- tricity, fire, and other essential resources are locat- ed. comes your ques- tions about condo- miniums and can be reached through the Oakville Beaver at 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ontario Mk 384. or by call- Condofax wel Consumer and C o m m e r c i a 1 Relations of the province of Ontario. H. Penman Smith is a Burlington resident who has been active in all phases of con- dominium activity since I975. He is vice-president of the Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the CCI and former C o n d o m i n i u m Information Officer with the Ministry of ing The Golden Horseshoe Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute (CCI) at 521-8144 and tA m I) T