Calgary officials call for ‘gradual’ return to normal indoor water use; outdoor restrictions remain

Calgarians are being asked to gradually return to their normal water habits after city officials said they were relaxing their indoor water conservation appeals on Tuesday.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek stressed residents should ease back into regular water use, and as an example, space out their laundry over a few days instead of doing a big “marathon session.”

“We are asking you to go back to your regular habits a little bit slowly,” she said during a Wednesday afternoon update. “The stabilization work that we are doing is still underway.”

“And there’s nobody saying that you can’t keep up some of your water saving measures as we come out of this.”

The city used 478 million litres of water on Tuesday with a noticeable increase in the evening, which Gondek said was expected after the news that regular use could resume came earlier in the day.

Tuesday’s use is still 20 per cent below the city’s normal daily usage.

The Bearspaw south feeder main is now operating at 50 per cent capacity as crews continue to slowly increase the flow and pressure of pipe. Production is also safely increasing at the Bearspaw Treatment Plant to allow for critical maintenance to take place at the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant.

The mayor says residents may temporarily see cloudy water, but assures that the water is safe to use and to drink.

CEMA Chief Sue Henry says the city is still not in a place to lift the Stage 4 outdoor water restrictions that remain in place for residents and businesses. She says when they are ready to start lifting outdoor restrictions, it will likely be done in stages.

“I know some people heard the indoor use being relaxed and automatically started to think about their outdoor usage,” Henry said. “We’re just not there yet.”

“We need to keep the whole system stable at this current level of pressure before we can relax to a lesser set of water restrictions.”

A fire ban also remains in place.

Non-potable river water pickups remain in place for residents and businesses. More information on location can be found here.

Most indoor pools are reopening Wednesday in Calgary and its surrounding communities, and swimming lessons are also resuming. Indoor skating rinks and showers at city facilities became available again on Tuesday afternoon.

Gondek declared a state of local emergency on June 15, 10 days after the break, after it was discovered there were five so-called “hotspots” on the feedermain that would likely extend the timeline to resolve the crisis to three to five weeks.

She says the order could be lifted later this week.

The mayor called for a third-party, independent review of the catastrophic break that put the city in a state of emergency and left Calgarians with water shortages for nearly a month — city officials said Wednesday that review will take 12 months at a minimum.