Watermain breaks cause havoc in Winnipeg

The bitter cold is causing a number ofwatermain breaks in Winnipeg, creating chaos for drivers and shoppers.

There have been sevenbreaks since Friday and 51 in December alone.

One of those happened early Monday in theSt. Vital area,near the intersection of Fermor Avenue and St. Mary's Road. The break flooded the street with water and fog.

A little later, two more breakswere reported on McPhillipsStreet and DafoeBoulevard, leavingpart of the Northgate Shopping Centre without water.

Theyalso affected six commercial buildings in the area as well as reduced traffic to a single lane on McPhillipsin that area.

The city says frost driving deep into the ground is one of the most likely causes ofwatermain breaks at this time of the year.