Calgary’s CAO headed for performance review as city continues to grapple with water main break

The performance of Calgary’s top bureaucrat will be under the microscope Tuesday at his annual review, as the city continues to face criticism over the second major water main break in less than two years.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) David Duckworth will go before council’s Executive Committee to face his 15 bosses at City Hall amid calls for him to be removed from his position.

Disapproval of Duckworth began to swirl following the Dec. 30 break of the Bearspaw Feeder Main, sending Calgary into water restrictions and raising questions about the management of one of the city’s most essential utilities.

An online petition by local group Common Sense Calgary calling for the CAO’s firing has more that 4,500 signatures.

Organizers say city administration failed to recognize issues raised about the Bearspaw Feeder Main over at least two decades, and someone should be held responsible.

Speculation has also been circling in various local media outlets that Duckworth could be shown the door.

A report into the 2024 report released last week by an independent panel blamed poor city management for the city’s massive water issues.

Panel chair Siegfried Kiefer, a former ATCO executive, said the blame can’t be laid at the foot of one mayor or council, but on governance.

“I believe you would have averted having this situation of water curtailment,” he said. “There were several opportunities over the last couple decades to build in resiliency and redundancy associated with that Bearspaw Feedermain.”

Following the news, Duckworth issued an apology and accepted accountability.

“We take this very seriously,” he said. “We apologize to Calgarians for being where we are today. We don’t want to be where we are.”

As CAO, Duckworth oversees all city departments and works closely with the mayor and council on issues that are important to Calgarians, according to the city website.

He joined the City of Calgary in 2018 as the General Manager of Utilities and Environmental Protection before taking the top job in 2019.

Last year, he committed to publicly disclosing his salary which at that time was $410,000 annually.

Duckworth is also a member of the Green Line Board and led more than 15,000 city employees through the COVID-19 pandemic.

He’s a civil engineer with an MBA from the University of British Columbia and has been in public service for over 30 years.