The Boyle Street Community Services building in downtown Edmonton was evacuated Thursday after a water line rupture caused a major flood inside the building.

A construction crew from PCL working by the new Rogers Place arena, struck the water line around 10 a.m., according to the city of Edmonton.

Water flooded the street outside, and inside the building, staff were ankle-deep in water.

"Water came up through the sewage system in the basement," said Ian Mathieson, Boyle Street's director of operations.

Mathieson said staff had no choice but to shut down its building at 10116 105th Avenue and cancel all of the programs offered inside.

"Our basement has two inches of water in it laced with sewage and we had to shut the water down," Mathieson said. "So we can't operate if there's no water or toilets or those kind of things. It's just not safe."

Drop-in centre manager Shannon Hebden said about 250 people would have been served lunch in this room. (Gareth Hampshire CBC News)

Mathieson said there had been significant damage to furniture and drywall in the basement where the mental health unit is located as well as to a youth unit and the area where the centre runs its family programs.

The closure has forced more than one hundred homeless people out on the street. A news release from Boyle Street Community Services said that PCL Construction has agreed to cover the additional expense of relocating Sunday's Thanksgiving dinner as well as other costs.

'We're pretty choked'

With the weather turning cooler, Mathieson is concerned for the people who would normally keep warm in the Boyle Street drop-in centre, which also had to cancel a lunch serving about 250 people.

"There's a lot of people with nowhere else to go struggling on the street right now," said drop-in centre manager Shannon Hebden.

The flooding started after a water line was hit by a work crew around 10 a.m. (Gareth Hampshire CBC News)

Hebden said there's never a good time for an interruption of Boyle Street's services, but a closure right before the long weekend is the worst possible scenario because many more people need support.

The problem is compounded due to the closure of the drop-in centre at the nearby Bissell Centre's drop-in centre. The centre had to close due to an outbreak of flu among the staff.

Bissell Centre spokesman Darren Brennan said the drop-in will re-open Friday at 7 a.m. In the meantime, he said people can access help at Bissell Centre East just across the street.

Brennan said agencies like the Hope Mission and the Mustard Seed remain open.

A sign on the door explained that Boyle Street is closed until further notice (Gareth Hampshire CBC News)

Since it remains unclear when Boyle Street Community Services can re-open, the agency is being forced to move its annual Thanksgiving dinner to a nearby building.

As many as 1,000 people are expected to attend.

The dinner will now take place in the main function room at the Boyle Street Plaza located at 95th Street and 103A Avenue.

The dinner will start at noon, earlier than originally planned, because the room is booked for another function later in the day.

"We're pretty choked," Mathieson said.

The agency will do all it can to let people know the Thanksgiving dinner has moved.

Crews from EPCOR are now in the area doing repair work.