Calgary water use continues to exceed recommended levels

Calgarians continued to exceed guidelines for water use over the weekend.

On Saturday, city-reported water use was at 496 million litres and on Sunday, it was at 509. The target set by the city is 485 million litres.

“When demand trends between 485 and 500 million litres, which is our yellow zone, the plant is working harder and preventative maintenance activities are more challenging to complete, increasing the risk of an operational failure,” director of climate and environment director, Carolyn Bowen, said Sunday.

A pump failure and a malfunctioning component in the water treatment process on the weekend also made things more difficult, but Bowen says that is a reminder of the importance of conserving water. The Glenmore Water Treatment Plant has been handling more than twice what it would normally during this time of restrictions.

Stage 4 water restrictions remain in place for the city, which means no outdoor water use whatsoever and a request to reduce indoor water use by cutting back showers, toilet flushes, and more.

Daily water usage has yet to meet the target threshold set by the city since the new restriction took effect on Aug. 26.

Gondek appeals for ‘one less flush’

In an update Monday morning, Mayor Jyoti Gondek says every skipped toilet flush over the next two weeks will matter as repairs on a troubled water main near the finish line and a treatment plant picking up the slack works full-tilt.

Gondek, flanked by several city councillors, thanked citizens for the sacrifices they’ve made and urged them to do just a bit more to avoid more drastic water rationing.

“If we have another pump failure or another operating issue that requires us to reduce the Glenmore plant’s production of water, we’ll immediately be faced with a situation where we need to reduce our water usage dramatically,” said Gondek.

The mayor also said the city has now reached the halfway mark in the Bearspaw feeder main repairs.

Repairs are still on track to be finished as scheduled on Sept. 23, with water rationing expected to end three days later.