City encourages Calgarians to work-from-home, become ‘laundry tourists’ to curb water use

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is encouraging those who are able to work from home to do so as high water use continues one week after a major water main break.

In a post to social media Tuesday, the mayor says city employees who are able to do their job remotely will be doing so. He’s encouraging employers to allow their workers to do the same to reduce strain on the system.

“Calgary we’re still in the water red zone. We need your urgent help to buy a little more time for the repair,” Farkas said. “Please do everything you can to conserve.”

The city sent a note to staff that encourages them to work from home until Jan. 16, according to a city spokesperson. Of the more than 15,000 employees with the city, about two-thirds are not eligible to work from home.

Green Calgary’s executive director Lex van der Raadt says water use is far more controllable at home than in large office buildings.

“When you’re at an office, there are a lot of things there outside of your control,” he says. “When you’re at home, you can control how often you’re flushing the toilet or how much water you’re using when washing your hands.”

He says something as simple as fewer automatic flushes can add up quickly.

Another measure that could be used to save water, according to the city, is for residents to become “laundry tourists” by taking their laundry to a friend or families place on the outskirts of the city where they don’t use Calgary water.

“Anything you could do that takes water use out of Calgary is perfect,” says Van der Raadt.

The City of Calgary’s potable water demand dashboard says the city used 514 million litres of water on Monday, considered unsustainable. The target zone is 485 million litred.

Calgary remains under Stage 4 water restrictions.

Residents are asked to run dishwashers and laundry only when full, limit showers to under three minutes, and flush toilets only when necessary.

Temporary water outage Wednesday

The city says there will be an interruption of water service Wednesday morning that will impact 30 homes and one business in Bowness over two days.

The impacted properties include the Soccer Centre and homes along 48 Avenue NW and 33 Avenue NW. Those impacted will be notified by crews, according to the city.

Officials say the interruption is necessary because crews will be inspecting the feeder main in the area.

“To enter the pipe and undertake this work safely, crews must first drain a section of the pipe and ensure it is safe for entry,” reads a city release.