The City of Saskatoon is suing two companies for water-related issues that lasted months in the Aspen Ridge neighbourhood.

The City alleges Mueller Water Products and Wolseley Canada supplied faulty fire hydrants.

The companies were responsible for manufacturing and distributing the hydrants.

“The City has suffered losses and damages in an amount of $1 million,” according to a statement of claim.

It all goes back to hydrocarbons detected earlier this year.

From January to September of this year, people living in the Aspen Ridge neighbourhood had been dealing with contaminated water.

Water was supplied through water bottles, water trucks, and temporary water lines.

In the statement of claim, filed November 23, 2018, the City says a black oil-like substance was discovered in nine of the 12 installed fire hydrants in Aspen Ridge.

The claim reads, “Mueller and/or Wolseley knew, or ought to have known, that the hydrants would be connected to the city’s potable water system, but failed to warn the city of the potential for contamination.”

Lab tests allegedly showed the substance not only contaminated the hydrants, but also polluted main water lines.

Those results led the City to issue a Do-Not-Use order to 19 addresses in the newly constructed neighbourhood. According to the claim, 10 of the 19 homes were occupied at the time.

Residents were advised not to drink the tap water or use it to bathe.

CTV spoke to several people in the area who said they recently moved in and experienced the inconvenience towards the end of the problem.

Brandon Linn moved into the neighbourhood in September and said he only dealt with the tail-end of water issues.

“You know these people move into their houses expecting everything to be in proper working order. Whether that be water, electrical, or anything like that. You don’t want to have to spend anywhere from $400,000 to $600,000 on a house and then have to deal with problems like that,” Linn said.

CTV reached out to both Mueller and Wolseley for comment.

“We have been made aware of the claim, but have yet to be formally served. We do not provide any comment on matters before the court or involving pending litigation,” Deborah Roberts, Communications Manager with Wolseley, said in an e-mailed statement.

CTV has not yet heard back from Mueller.

The extent of the alleged contamination isn’t yet known. None of the allegations have been proven in court.