Calgary aces water testing; stabilization of water system to take 3-5 days
Posted Jun 30, 2024 9:25 am.
Last Updated Jul 1, 2024 2:03 pm.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) has given Calgary the green light to begin stabilizing the over 5,000-kilometre water network, but officials say it will take a few more days as it moves forward cautiously as the step presents the “greatest amount of risk.”
Mayor Jyoti Gondek says this is the final and most riskiest stage of the process, and that “Calgarians aren’t out of the woods yet.”
“Preparations are underway at Shaganappi Pump Station where we are opening valves to connect the feedermain into the system. This will take some time because opening a single valve can take up to 90 minutes,” Gondek explained.
She says water use still has to be reduced, and that Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions remain in place along with the fire ban.
“This does not mean that water is immediately going to surge through that two-meter pipe to safely stabilize the water system. We must have a gentle and cautious approach as valves are being reopened and we are being watchful as we are doing this work,” Gondek said.
CEMA Chief Sue Henry says the process involves the entirety of the water network, which is over 5,000 kilometres in size, not just the damaged areas and asks Calgarians to keep up with its water use indoors as the city begins the process.
Update – June 30, 2024
— City of Calgary (@cityofcalgary) June 30, 2024
We are happy to announce the pipe has been filled, flushed, and now tested. This milestone moves us to the most critical step in restoring Calgary’s water system and network – stabilization of the system.
For a full update visit https://t.co/IDc2bs3Dc3 pic.twitter.com/Guis4mdT9Q
Meanwhile, priorities and investment director Francois Bouchart says the stabilization process takes around three to five days, as crews will be working on reintroducing water from the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant and opening up valves in the system.
“With stabilization, assuming everything goes perfectly as we hope, then three to five days is still appropriate. During that time, we would start seeing a gradual easing of restrictions,” he said.
Bouchart also says crews will make adjustments to the rest of the water network that was made to keep water flowing over the past few weeks as those actions have introduced pressure changes to the feedermain and other parts of the network.
“When you change pressure in pipes and create stress, which can cause leaks and breaks, we need to take a gradual conservative approach to monitoring and stabilizing the system,” he said.
“This means increasing the pressure rather than waiting for the system to stabilize, then increasing the pressure some more. Throughout the process, we’ll be monitoring for pressure spikes and breaks throughout our water distribution system.”
Water use down on Saturday; AHS gives Calgary water greenlight
The mayor says 447 million litres of water were used Saturday, well below the 480 million litre limit, and much lower than the record high of 500 million litres on Thursday.
The city has long said the threshold considered safe is 480 million litres, meaning issues could arise for hospitals and other medical facilities, and if a fire were to break out.
The flushing process finished Saturday, and samples were sent to AHS for testing — the second to last phase before water flow can return to normal.
AHS Medical Officer of Health Dr. Franco Rizzuti says 34 samples were submitted by the city, along with multiple onsite samples from locations around the repair sites were collected. He says the water was consistently clean and clear, and no bacteria was found.
“These standards early in the flushing stage met and exceeded regulatory requirements stabilized and remained at that point throughout the flush,” he said.
He also says the water exceeded Health Canada’s drinking guidelines.
“Alberta Health Services in collaboration with Environment and Protected Areas provided the City of Calgary with no objections and the ability for the city to proceed into the stabilization phase,” Rizzuti said.
“I want to stress that as we move forward through the stabilization phase, additional water quality testing will continue to occur to inform decisions and to ensure that water remains safe for Calgarians and community partners to consume.”
Meanwhile, the Bow River pathway through the Point Mckay area on the north side has reopened, but residents will notice equipment still in place. This is just in case the city is sure it doesn’t need to go through the re-flushing phase again.
“Assuming that the test comes back clean and we can move on, our water crews will slowly begin turning on a series of pumps and valves to bring that section of the feedermain back into the water system,” Gondek said in her morning update.
“And as any of you with pipeline experience will know, this stabilization process is the most risky step in restoring water service. Our water team will be paying close attention to all of their monitoring equipment to see if any of the readings are out of the ordinary.”
The mayor says residents will notice hydrants being used to flush out water during the stabilization process and is a “necessary step in returning water back into the feedermain.”
The Parkdale neighbourhood will be the first area to see hydrants being used.
Watch: Calgary’s feeder main repair work continues into weekend: Officials
While city crews will be slowly bringing the section of two-meter wide pipe back online, Gondek says Calgarians need to keep doing their part in conserving as much water as possible.
“The feeder main needs to stabilize to make sure that nothing goes wrong,” she said.
“It’s very much like I said yesterday (Saturday), ‘If you have gone through surgery and you are recovering, sometimes you need some more tests to be run before you can get the all-clear.’ That’s the stage that we’re in right now. We still need to be cautious as we get that pipe stabilized.”
As a precaution, Michael Thompson, the city’s general manager of infrastructure, says there are several contingency plans in place, including spare parts in the event the stabilization doesn’t work out as planned.
Those include three additional sections of pipe, exterior repair kits, and additional pumps that have been brought in case “any issues arise.”
“Our concern isn’t, with respect, to the repairs on the hotspots in the original break that we’ve completed. Our concern is the entire pipe,” he said.
“We understand more about this pipe now and we understand that we need to do a medium and long term rehabilitation of this pipe. And so as we slowly bring it up, back to pressure and flow, we’re going to watch it and monitor it to make sure that no other issues arise — but if they do arise, we’ll be ready to respond quickly.”
Water use during emergency situations
Gondek said she visited Calgary favourite Ol’ Beautiful after the taproom went up in flames early Sunday morning. She says the employees of the business and the fire department were “devastated” by the loss.
“The building could not be saved,” she said. “However, everyone is incredibly thankful that no one was injured in this.”
“We have had a number of fires that have impacted many Calgarians in their homes and their businesses this past month. While we have also faced a water emergency. My heart is with all the families and the individuals who have been impacted by these fires.”
The Calgary Fire Department says about 1.2 million litres of water were used battling the flames as residents and businesses alike work to keep water use down.
Another fire that hit a 48-unit condo on June 24 left dozens of Calgarians homeless as fire crews also worked to douse the blaze. It’s unclear how much water was used then.
Henry echoes the mayor’s statement, adding it’s “another sober reminder of why we need to continue to conserve water.”
“It is the reason that we need to conserve water, we need to make sure that we have enough water for firefighting efforts and need to make sure we have enough water for Alberta Health Services and our hospitals,” she explained.
“So we definitely see an impact on the system. But it’s the result of the work of Calgarians that allows us to have enough water to deal with these situations.”
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.
This story has been updated with the latest information. Tune into CityNews 660 for the latest on the city’s water restrictions.
Editor’s note: This story has corrected the number around Calgary’s water line network as it originally said it was five kilometres in size when it is over 5,000 kilometres long. We apologize for the error.
