Calgary downgrades to Stage 2 water restrictions

Calgarians can once again use a sprinkler or a hose to water their lawns and gardens or fill up their pools, after the city moved to Stage 2 water restrictions Thursday.

“It is with great relief that I’m able to share with you this morning that, in the middle of this intense heat wave, we are now moving to Stage 2 water restrictions,” Mayor Gondek said. “So, what does that mean for us? It means that you are able to provide more care for your gardens your, your flowers, and your trees.

The mayor says the city’s water infrastructure has held up as the feed of flow in the Bearspaw South Feeder Main has slowly been increased since Monday. There haven’t been any new wire snaps detected in the pipe or unusual activity since additional pumps were turned on.

The flow in the pipe is currently at 70 per cent, up from 55 per cent on Monday.

‘Our work doesn’t stop here’

Despite Thursday’s good news, Gondek says there is still much work to be done, including the third-party investigation into the situation.

“Calgarians deserve answers to why this happened and how to prevent this from happening again,” she said, adding an investigation into the matter is necessary to improve the city’s water delivery and monitoring methods in any way possible.

But, work won’t stop with the completion of a review, the mayor says.

She says Calgary is on the frontlines of an infrastructure crisis, an issue that dates back decades and has been ignored and written off as too expensive by governments for some time.

“I’m of the view that perhaps we got lucky here in Calgary,” Gondek said. “Our warning came early and we have world-leading infrastructure expertise in our city.”

What does Stage 2 mean for Calgarians?

All Calgary residents and businesses can now use a sprinkler, soaker hose, or in-ground sprinkling system for up to one hour a week on specific days.

The sprinkler schedule is based on address — houses that have even numbers will be on one schedule, and houses that have odd numbers will be on one schedule.

Even house numbers can water on Wednesdays or Saturdays, and odd house numbers can water on Thursdays or Sundays.

“We are still being mindful that we have enough supply to meet the increased demand, especially during this hot weather,” explained general manager, infrastructure services Michael Thompson. “By following the sprinkler schedule, we will help to manage demand in a gradual, measured way, with use balanced across the entire city.”

Residents are asked to water in the early morning or evening to avoid the warmest hours in the afternoon and minimize evaporation.

Hoses fitted with a trigger spray nozzle or watering wand, or a drip irrigation system with an automatic shut off can be used on any day at any time, Thompson says.

“We continue to proceed with caution and will monitor on Friday and throughout the weekend to see how our system performs and to ensure that our supply is enough to meet the increased demand,” he explained.

Full list of Stage 2 restrictions can be found here.

Next steps

If pressure in the pipe remains stable, the move to Stage 1 water restrictions could come as soon as Monday, Thompson says.

Looking ahead, city officials have started to develop a medium to long-term rehabilitation plan for the feeder main to address some of the ongoing issues that have been detected. More information will be added to that plan when new information from the pipe diver inspection is received by the end of the month.

According to Thompson, changes being considered include placing a liner inside the existing pipe, replacing additional sections of pipe which have lower structural capacity, exterior enforcing of the pipe, or installing a new pipe altogether.

The mayor has committed to giving semi-regular updates on the situation until water restrictions are removed.

Water restrictions of varying levels have been in place since the catastrophic pipeline break on June 5.

This is a developing story.

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