Outdoor water restrictions to remain ‘for some time’ as Calgary’s state of emergency ends
Posted Jul 4, 2024 3:29 pm.
Last Updated Jul 5, 2024 9:26 am.
A local state of emergency has ended for the City of Calgary but officials say outdoor water restrictions will likely remain in place for a while longer.
Stage 4 restrictions are still in effect for homes and businesses which means a continued ban on watering lawns or gardens, washing outside surfaces or windows, and more.
Francois Bouchart, the city’s director of capital priorities and investment, says the Bearspaw South feeder main that crews have been working to repair for the past month is still not working at full capacity.
“We must actively manage our supply and demand,” he says. “Moving from Stage 4 to Stage 3 is our next milestone, from there we will move from Stage 3 to Stage 2.”
“Some level of outdoor water restrictions will likely be in place for some time yet. We’re unable to confirm how long until we progress further.”
Bouchart says lifting the restrictions in stages will allow the city gradually increase the supply to the system. He says they have now turned off the two small pumps that were running and have turned on a larger pump as they continue to monitor and stabilize the pipe.
“I want to stress that lifting the state of local emergency doesn’t mean things have gone back to normal,” says CEMA Chief Sue Henry.
“We are, unfortunately, still not at a place where we can relax those outdoor restrictions and move to stage 3. This will be a phased approach and, I promise, we will lift what we can as soon as we can.”
The feeder main is now flowing at 50 per cent water capacity and 73 per cent of normal operating pressure. The Glenmore Water Treatment plant is still undergoing maintenance, and Bouchart says that process is likely to finished by Friday.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek first declared the state of local emergency on June 15, 10 days after the break, after it was discovered there were five so-called “hotspots” on the feeder main that would likely extend the timeline to resolve the crisis to three to five weeks.
Gondek has stressed residents should ease back into regular water use after officials said they were relaxing indoor restrictions earlier this week.
The city also remains under a fire ban. A full list of Stage 4 outdoor restrictions can be found here.
Non-potable river water pickups remain in place for residents and businesses. More information on location can be found here.
Most indoor pools have reopened in Calgary, and swimming lessons are also resuming. Indoor skating rinks and showers at city facilities became available again on Tuesday afternoon.
Thursday marked the last day of the city livestreaming their water updates. The mayor says moving forward they will continue to put out important updates online and post to social media.
