Paving stones come loose after water pipe explodes in Westvleteren

Traffic can no longer continue at the main square in Westvleteren and has to take a detour. On Friday night, a main pipe burst under pressure and the water pushed up the cobblestones. The road is now open and next week the Roads and Traffic Agency will try to clear the road again. According to the mayor of Vleteren, Stephan Mourisse, the street will have to be reconstructed in the autumn anyway and residents will then have to follow a diversion for a long time.

Underwater restaurant

In restaurant and café ‘Den Engel’ in the village, the water ran through the walls and out of the floor on Friday night. The floor was flooded and a stream left the house past the door. The water could be shut off, but it is likely that the building with a basement also suffered considerable damage. The owners were on leave, but plan to reopen the doors in a few days.

The days before the big leak, water was already escaping from the pipes here and there, but those holes could always be closed. The mayor does not understand how the main pipeline eventually burst. It could be due to the warm weather causing the substrate to dry out and shrink. Mayor Mourisse hopes there are no craters or other serious damage underground.

Due to the leak, there were problems with the water supply in the village on Saturday, but that hindrance was largely resolved by the evening. Also outside the village center, in the Eikhoekstraat, water came up from the sewers.