‘No disruptions to services’ after sewage leak into Bow River, mayor says

Calgary’s mayor says a sewage leak into the Bow River has been contained and there will be no disruptions to city services.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek provided the update on Monday afternoon after revealing over the weekend that sewage had been leaking into the river near the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant in the city’s southeast.

The leaky pipe, which transported wastewater to the plant, was found Friday after city officials said they’d been noticing a drop in the volume of sewage that was arriving at the plant for over a week.

After the leak was identified, wastewater flows were diverted to two other pipes into the plant that were still working. Gondek says water samples near the site are showing a dramatic improvement.

“These measure show the leak is fully contained,” she says. “I want to reassure Calgarians that this situation is isolated.”

Gondek told reporters on Saturday that Alberta Health Services (AHS) assured the city that Calgary’s drinking water has remained safe with the other pipes being able to handle the flow after the leaking pipe was shut down.

The mayor says she is confident the city’s infrastructure is being well looked after since crews moved from reactive to proactive measures in the wake of the major feeder main break last summer.

The rupture of the Bearspaw feeder main last June sent Calgary into a water emergency with on and off restrictions lasting until September.

With files from The Canadian Press