Calgary officials stress water conservation as daily usage breaks threshold
Posted Jun 28, 2024 9:24 am.
Last Updated Jun 28, 2024 7:57 pm.
Progress is being made on Calgary’s broken water feeder main ahead of the Canada Day long weekend, but the city’s mayor cautions that the situation is still days away from being rectified.
In her update Friday morning, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Calgarians used the most amount of water since the crisis began more than three weeks ago on Thursday — 500 million litres.
CEMA Chief Sue Henry had parallel messaging in the city’s afternoon update, saying Calgarians were going down a dangerous path.
“We may be putting lives at risk,” she said. “Hospitals need water to do life-saving care, our fire department needs water to be able to put out any fires that may happen.”
The city has long said the threshold considered safe is 480 million litres, meaning issues could arise for hospitals and other medical facilities, or if a fire were to break out.
“The feeder main that broke is not back online yet,” Gondek insisted. “For those that think the conclusion of the repairs was the all-clear for regular water usage, it was not.
“If fact, right now is the time we need to be very aware of our water usage and do everything we can to save water.”
The mayor called the trend of increased water usage an “optics” issue, saying many resident probably feel the project to restore normal water service is already done since most of the above-ground work is complete.
More progress on feeder main repairs
Earlier this week, the city outlined four stages needed for the work on the major water pipeline to be complete: filling, flushing, testing, and stabilizing. Gondek said workers are still on the first step of filling, which is taking a bit longer than initially expected.
“If things move according to the updated time estimates, the filling process should complete late tonight,” she said.
After that, water crews are expected to start flushing the pipe late Friday and early into Saturday morning. Once that process is complete, testing of the water will begin.
Water services director Nancy Mackay said repair work is still expected to be completed by July 1.
“We have entered a critical phase of bringing the feeder main back into service,” she said. “(Flushing) may remove any sediment that had entered during some of the repairs.”
“The flushed water will then exit through valves and fire hydrants, and return to the river.”
The filling and flushing stage can be risky, the mayor says, which is why the pipe is being closely monitored by a network of sensors.
“If anything goes wrong, we have a robust, multi-layered contingency plan in place,” Gondek said. “I’m hoping we don’t need to use any of those contingencies, but I rest a lot easier knowing that we have backup plans in place.”
For the time being, residents can pick-up non-potable water for outdoor plants at six locations across the city and hours of operation are shifting slightly for residential pick up from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The list of locations can be found here.
Impacts to Edworthy Park
Residents and visitors to the area may see pipes and fire hydrants in Edworthy Park with the flushing water flowing out and into the river, the mayor explains. Three areas of the park will be closed to the public to allow for this work to happen.
“At the start, this water may look discoloured and this is a normal part of the process as the dirt and debris from the pipe are washed out,” she said.
City crews have also worked with the province to minimize the environmental impact of putting dechlorinated water back into the Bow River.
For those planning on rafting down the river this long weekend, Gondek is asking that everyone wear a lifejacket and stay away from the north shore of the Bow River near the park where the flushing is taking place.
The river path through Edworthy Park is being detoured and the north Edworthy Park parking lot will also be closed to the public.
The road most affected by the break — 16 Avenue NW — will be open to increased traffic starting Friday, Gondek said.
Bans, restrictions continue
The Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions remain in place along with the fire ban. Fines are now being handed out for non-compliance and the city says they have now fielded nearly 3,000 calls about water misuse.
City officials also confirmed this week that Canada Day fireworks will proceed from Stampede Park, despite the ongoing fire ban.
CEMA Chief Sue Henry says that doesn’t give people permission to put on their own show, adding fireworks will be allowed on a case-by-case basis.
