Failure to conserve water during pipeline repairs could force Calgary into city-wide boil water advisory: officials

Ignoring the rules is simply not an option, that from City of Calgary officials on the first day of Stage 4 water restrictions, as crews prepare to make essential repairs to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main.

Director of Capital Priorities and Investment, Francois Bouchart, said Monday if residents and businesses don’t answer the call to reduce their indoor water use by 25 per cent, and adhere to outdoor water restrictions, the city could be forced into a months-long boil water advisory.

“I must stress the consequences if we don’t save water that we need for these repairs to safely occur — if we consistently exceed our target of 450 million litres this means we risk running out of water and must enter a city-wide boil water advisory,” he explained.

Using more than the safely allotted amount of water will eventually run underground water storage reservoirs dry, Bouchart added, which would cause a drop in water pressure.

Adequate water pressure is need to keep water safe.

Bouchart says there isn’t an immediate solution if the reservoirs do run dry.

“Refilling them won’t immediately solve the problem as the system would need to be flushed to remove any contaminants,” he explained. “This process requires a lot of treated water and at this time of the year, flows on the Elbow River naturally start to decrease and we start to rely on water stored in the Glenmore Reservoir to help us through the winter.

“If a boil water advisory were to occur, it could last several months until enough water is available in the spring to safely flush and clean the system.”

WATCH: Living near ground zero of Calgary’s feeder main repairs

Crews will stop the flow of water in the Bearspaw South Feeder Main on Tuesday to repair 21 sites along 33 Avenue NW and 16 Avenue NW. There will also be two pipe segment repairs on Parkdale Boulevard and near Crowchild Trail.

A reservoir pushing water into the pipe was scheduled to be shut off on Tuesday ahead of construction.

“It is imperative we begin this repair now if we do not want to risk another feeder main break over the winter,” Bouchart said.

“It remains critical that we balance demand with the available water supply to ensure that we have water available to meet essential needs, such as water for firefighting.”

Restrictions are set to be in place until Sept. 23.

More information on what is and isn’t permitted during this time can be found here.