New Calgary water main break frustrating affected residents

While city crews are repairing a new water main break in Montgomery, some affected residents and business owners say they are struggling to get any water in this heat.

City crews are on the scene repairing a new water main break in Calgary’s Montgomery that happened Friday evening, just one block away from the location of that massive water rupture from June 5 that constrained the city’s water use for five weeks.

The new break isn’t connected to the Bearspaw Feedermain break that forced the city into water restrictions for weeks on end.

Crews have shut off valves to stop the flow into the pipe, leaving 14 homes and 10 businesses without any water in this heat.

“Well, it was a surprise,” Montgomery resident Conrad Rover told CityNews.

“We just got back from a day of activities yesterday. Overall it’s super greasy. I mean my spouse … she had to go to work this morning without a shower, so I know it’s not the end of the world … they got the emergency water there. Just hopefully it’s fixed soon.”

The city says repairs on the new break will likely be completed within 48 hours, and water wagons are on site.

“This incident does not affect our ability to meet Calgary’s current water demand and our water remains safe to drink,” said Nancy MacKay, the city’s director of water services.

“Water main breaks of this size are not unusual. The number of main breaks we are responding to is a little bit higher right now than we’d normally see. We anticipate that we may see a few additional breaks as the system responds to the changes that we have been making to restore water flow.”

Christena Callahan, owner of the pet grooming business Canine Cutspet in Montgomery, has been dealing with water restrictions for weeks due to the initial water main break repairs in the area.

She finally got some relief with the current Stage 2 outdoor water restrictions, but with this new break, she tells CityNews they have no water and the business is shut down.

“You know, I mean, the first time it wasn’t that bad for us. This time it’s shut us down. The city is doing the best that they can. So it’s, it is what it is,” she said.

“Could be worse, and hopefully they’re able to fix it quickly. And we got our dogs back in because, with the heatwave, everybody wants their dogs groomed”

While repairs to this pipe are underway, the city says there haven’t been any new wire snaps detected in the Bearspaw Feedermain since additional pumps were turned on.

If things go smoothly, MacKay says Calgary could move to the lowest level of water restrictions early next week.