Calgary businesses relying on water struggle with restrictions

Many Calgarians have shown awareness of the critical need to conserve water during the water break emergency, but what about those whose source of income depends on it?

With two weeks of water restrictions impacting the lives of Calgarians in the books, businesses that rely on water face significant challenges in maintaining their operations.

“Our projected revenue is down about 55 per cent,” said Matthew Rose, the operations manager of Wipe Clean. “It might take about two months once restrictions have finally ended to actually reach the point we need to for either break even or profit a full year.”

“Having a hard time [getting] work to pay our employees.”

It’s not only that they’ve had to limit their services, but the public outcry over their water use has been an issue.

“We’ve had two encounters where neighbours have called us in with bylaw or police and we’ve had to talk with them, explain to them that as a window cleaning business with a business license, we are exempt from the restrictions,” he said.

He is hoping for some sort of compensation to help these businesses while the restriction lasts.

Rose says they’ve also been trying to get in contact with the city regarding several issues, the most recent to get a license to pull water from the river, but they still haven’t received any response.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in Sunday’s update that the city has made non-potable water available for use, which can be picked up from Ogden Boat Launch and Baker Park on the Bow River.

“We want to remind you only to take what you need. It’s a temporary fix,” she said.

“It’s not intended for large-scale water collection, but just as a short-term solution, so you can get some water to your gardens and to your plants.”

The City of Calgary has said that there will be stricter enforcement when it comes to people breaking outdoor water restrictions.

People have been urged to reduce toilet flushes, take shorter showers and do fewer loads of laundry and dishes.

More information on outdoor water restrictions can be found here.