WINNIPEG (CBC) - It's been more than five months since a break in a water main flooded Basil's Restaurant, but its owner still has no idea when - or if - the Winnipeg institution will be able to reopen.

The 32-year-old Osborne Village restaurant closed in February after a broken pipe sent water cascading into the building at the corner of Osborne and Stradbrook.

Owner Basil Lagopoulos estimates the damage at $1 million, and said engineers have given him disturbing news about the building.

"One of the engineers has recommended that perhaps the front half of the building may have to be demolished and rebuilt again," he told CBC News.

Lagopoulos doesn't know when the verdict on the future of the building will come, so the restaurant - and its back patio, a popular summer hangout - remain closed, a closure that also put about two dozen employees out of work.

"This is a complete loss. This business has to be started from scratch."

'This was my life'

Lagopoulos believes the City of Winnipeg should be responsible for the damage, because it was a city water main that ruptured. The pipe that burst was 80 years old and in very poor shape, he said.

"The city has admitted nothing. No one from the city has called me to express concern, condolences or regrets," he said.

City officials say water main breaks are unforeseen events and the city is not responsible for damage they cause to private property.

Lagopoulos expects the matter may be settled by insurance companies. In the meantime, he said, the closure has been hard on him, both financially and emotionally.

"This was my life. This was my business. This was my livelihood. This was my social life. Putting in 12, 14, 15-hour days was not a problem because it was enjoyable," he said.

"Interestingly enough, when I had this restaurant, when I went home after my business day I didn't want to see anybody. Right now, when the day ends after supper, I'm lonely."

Major work planned for Village

Another disruption is on the horizon for businesses in Osborne Village.

Tremaine Burrows, executive director of the Osborne Village Improvement Zone, said the city plans to update its old infrastructure, including the ancient water mains.

"The date is up in the air: mid- to late August, "he said. "I understand that they will have to close two lanes of traffic to accommodate the work, and that the work will take somewhere between a week and 21/2 weeks."

The city is considering doing the work during off-peak hours and ensuring customers can still access area businesses during construction.

The work should help prevent a repeat of the problems seen in February, when a series of breaks temporarily closed several other businesses.

Winnipeg usually sees two or three water-main breaks per day in February, but extreme cold weather in early 2008 was blamed for a higher-than-usual number.

Water main breaks usually result from corrosion on the outside of the pipes due to Winnipeg's highly conductive soil, city officials say. Changing soil conditions can then cause the weakened pipe to break.

The city's water system has about 2,400 kilometres of water mains, about 10 per cent installed before 1920. It costs about $4,000 to repair the average break.

LIKE IT?  LET OTHERS KNOW