‘Every drop counts’: Local state of emergency declared for Calgary as water crisis continues

The City of Calgary declared a local state of emergency Saturday morning amid the city’s water shortage and needed repairs on a feedermain pipe.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek says this is due to five issues being found on the feedermain, leading to three to five weeks of water restrictions for repairs. The repairs will have to go through a staging process, which might require the city to go on private property.

“Which I think will absolutely be the case if we’re trying to work on five sites at once,” Gondek explained in the morning update alongside CEMA Chief Sue Henry. “The state of local emergency is not linked to the level of water in the reservoirs.”

“And with the partnership we have with the provincial government, we are looking at every possible solution to get water out of the Bearspaw treatment plant to reservoirs.”

Henry said during the 2 p.m. update that the emergency powers also include removing trees from people’s property, procurement, and activating the city’s emergency plans and programs. She also says the city has no intention of using them at this time but needs “to be ready to use them.”

“So for us, as I mentioned, the five sites … very, very complicated to do five large work sites at the same time and we’re building the plan to be able to do that it provides us a little more horsepower to enact that,” she said.

Gondek says water use stabilized at 480 million litres Friday, same as Thursday, but says this is an “all hands on deck situation,” and is pleading with Calgarians to keep their water use down.

“I hate to do this to you Calgary, but I’m going to have to do it again, we’re going to need to reduce our water use and I’m relying on you so that we can get through this,” Gondek said.

Calgary, along with Airdrie and Chestermere, has been under mandatory and voluntary water restriction rules since the Bearspaw feedermain ruptured in the Bowness area on June 5.

If the city exceeds the threshold of 480 million litres, the city won’t be able to maintain demand and the water supply will eventually run out. Gondek is asking residents to help bring levels back down to last Saturday’s, which was around 440 million litres.

Infrastructure Manager Francis Bouchard says 300 metres of pipe have been drained and was set to go through a robotic inspection Friday night but has been delayed. An analysis is expected to be finished by Monday.

Gondek, meanwhile, says the city has reached out to multiple municipalities “across the continent” to secure parts, resources, and expertise.

“Here in Alberta, we have a world-leading energy sector and companies ready and willing to discuss solutions. I want to bring our best and brightest to the table and get this issue resolved for Calgarians as quickly as possible,” Gondek said.

“Restoring your water service is my absolute number one priority.”

Calls to 311 for water misuse; two tickets and over 1,000 warnings issued

Henry says 5,724 calls have been made to 311 as of Saturday, and 1,794 of them were for water misuse. She says the majority of those calls have been resolved and 139 remain open.

The city says officers have issued over 1,000 warnings, 507 verbal warnings and 551 written warnings, along with two tickets to contractors associated with construction work.

She adds that 220 fire ban calls have been made, with 18 remaining open, and that wait times for 311 are sitting at around 18 minutes. The 311 app is being encouraged as an alternative, along with visiting the website and submitting an online request.

Work on repairing the pipeline restarted Thursday afternoon following the injury of two workers the day prior, which prompted an inspection by Occupational Health and Safety (OHS).

A timeline provided by the city earlier this week estimated the new pipe would be installed Thursday before it was flushed for three days and quality tested for two days — with the phasing out of restrictions to follow.

Calgary businesses are being asked to help conserve water

Gondek is also asking businesses to help reduce water use, such as asking them to consider having staff work at home so they can better manage their water use.

“I think it would save them the time of having a shower in the morning and no one has to worry about what they look or smell like for that matter. It’s an interesting solution to offer people the opportunity to work from home, and it also means you can manage your flushing at home which you can’t often do at work.”

“I know this sounds a little bit frivolous … or trivial at times to talk about flushing toilets. But the truth of the matter is if every household in Calgary did one less toilet flush per day, we would save 12 million litres of water. So it is a lot of water and it is a way that you can help out.”

Director of Calgary Water Services Nancy Mackay says businesses consume around 35 per cent of the city’s water supply, and over 7,000 have been contacted, asking for support in reducing their water use.

“Over the last week, we’ve heard from businesses across the city taking action, cutting back water use in their operations. They are making changes in how they run their water or run their businesses to use less water. To all those businesses taking those steps, big and small, I want to thank you for your efforts,” she said in the afternoon update.

She says carwashes, car dealerships, and repair shops were asked Friday to cease water use for cleaning, along with noting how several had already voluntarily ceased using water outdoors.

“We’re in the process of reaching out to all of these customers to explain this decision and to address their concerns and questions. We understand the impact such a decision may have,” Mackay said.

“I want to assure these businesses that this is a temporary but necessary measure given the situation we currently find ourselves in in the city for all other businesses.”

She is asking businesses where water is needed for health and safety, such as restaurants, to consider how to use non-essential water operations.

“I want to thank all Calgarians for everything you’re doing to save water, because truly every drop counts, I have full confidence that we can bound together to conserve the water that we need to during this challenging time,” Mackay said.

This comes as Gondek visited Bowness during Neighbour Day, a day marking the 2013 Calgary floods. She says businesses in the area and in Montgomery remain open and need the support of the city at this time.

“It may require you finding an alternate route to get to them or maybe you’re parking is going to be another block than it typically is. But those businesses can really use your support. And I think it’s that kind of reminder that’s going to be important,” she said.

“We liaise regularly with the Business Improvement Area (BIA) folks, and we are doing our best to get the word out that businesses are not shut down because of the construction at this time.”

Gondek and Henry say the expected rain is an opportunity to catch water and use it for outdoor use, such as for gardening.

“Now is not the time to make hay while the sun shines but to capture rain while the rain falls,” Henry said. “This is an opportunity and a great time to collect that rain.”

“Find a rain barrel, find a bucket, find any kind of container that you can set outside. And it’s a great water use for your gardens as well as any of your plants outside. Any container can do this, and we encourage you to put out as many as you can so that we have a supply for the coming days in the coming weeks.”

When asked about the pipe and what happened, Gondek says answers are incoming, but has no definitive answer on the 49-year-old pipe.

“I can appreciate that Calgarians want answers about what happened, how it happened and who’s accountable, I will tell you that we are getting that information put together as quickly as we can. It will be made available publicly, we intend to be fully transparent on this,” she said.

“But we need some time to really focus on getting that repair done right now. So those answers will be forthcoming, it’s just going to take a little bit of time.”

Repairs close to the start of the Calgary Stampede

The later timeline for repairs means the water emergency could extend through the Calgary Stampede. Gondek wouldn’t say if there are any adaptation plans at this time, but that it is in close talks with the organization.

“We’ve got really good partnerships at the city with many organizations, including Calgary Stampede, and I’m looking forward to understanding their perspective after their meeting here yesterday, so I’m not in a position to speculate at this point,” she said.

In a statement to CityNews, the Calgary Stampede said, “We will continue to work with our partners at the City of Calgary and the Calgary Emergency Management Agency as this situation evolves.”

Stage 4 outdoor watering restrictions are still in place, and so is a fire ban. Gondek also said no indoor water restrictions are planned at this time, but that Calgarians should “understand that outdoor water restrictions are in place.”

“That means you cannot water your lawn. It means you can’t wash your car in your driveway. It means don’t think that at midnight, you can sneak out and water your garden because no one’s looking,” she said.

“You need to know in your soul that you’re using water and right now we need you to please not do that. And take advantage of the rain that’s coming.”

Alberta’s Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver said in a statement that the local emergency signifies the “critical state” of Calgary’s water infrastructure, that the province supports the city, and is in regular contact with Gondek’s office.

“Alberta’s government supports the City of Calgary in its decision to declare a state of local emergency as this step signifies the critical state of Calgary’s water infrastructure and the work that must happen expeditiously in order to return to normal. A local state of emergency allows the city to swiftly procure materials and coordinate action for the repair,” he said.

“Alberta’s government remains in regular communication with the city through the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), Alberta Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), and directly with the mayor’s office and we support the city in any way that is needed.”

This story is being updated with the latest information. Listen to CityNews 660 for up-to-date coverage.

With files from Lauryn Heintz and Michael Ranger