Langford city hall closed due to ‘significant flood’ from burst pipe

Langford city hall is closed to the public after a “significant flood” on Wednesday evening.

West Shore RCMP says the flood was due to a burst pipe. RCMP initially attended the scene, but once the burst pipe was discovered left as the issue was “not criminal in nature.”

A City of Langford spokesperson says a restoration crew is on site.

“The restoration crew advises that it will take several days for everything to dry up and complete a thorough assessment of the damage; therefore, it is too early to speculate on a timeline or costs for repairs,” the spokesperson said.

The city says the pipe burst in the attic above the third floor and damage was caused to a large section of the building, including the privately owned units and businesses.

“It is important for the public to know that many City operations have been unaffected by the flooding. Despite City Hall being closed today for in-person service, staff across most departments continue to serve the public as they would on any given day,” said Scott Goodmanson, mayor of Langford.

The city says the finance, administration and planning departments are those that were most affected by the flood. The council chambers were unaffected.

As a result of the damage from the flood, city hall will be closed on June 27.

“Despite City Hall being closed, City staff will continue to serve the public remotely as technology allows,” the city said in a news release.”For developers or businesses owners with scheduled off-site meetings with staff, the respective staff member or department will reach out to you to confirm the appointment.

Starting on Friday, there will be a temporary office set up on the ground floor of 877 Goldstream Avenue for residents to be able to pay property taxes in person.

“The City reminds residents that alternate payment options such as online banking, in-person at banks, credit card, after-hours drop box at City Hall, or by mail, are available,” the news release said. “Further information about these methods can be found on the back of the tax notice.”

Efforts are still underway to set up front-counter service for all city departments.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story cited the source of the flood as the fire sprinklers activating due to information provided at the time by an RCMP officer. West Shore RCMP clarified that the cause of the flood was a burst pipe and the story has been updated to reflect that.

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