Calgary warned of ‘severe’ infrastructure risks as council enters budget talks
Posted Jan 19, 2026 4:42 pm.
As Calgary puts its latest round of water troubles in the rear view mirror, the city faces what officials describe as a “severe” and escalating risk to its capital infrastructure, according to a new municipal risk assessment set to be presented this week.
The 2025 Year-End Principal Corporate Risk Report, scheduled for review at Thursday’s audit committee meeting, outlines growing concerns across the city’s core infrastructure systems, including water and roads, bridges, buildings, vehicle fleets, and IT networks.
The report ranks Calgary’s capital infrastructure at the highest possible risk level, indicating that extensive failure is almost inevitable without significant intervention.
City officials warn that delays to major capital projects could lead to reduced service levels, operational challenges, and failures driven by competing priorities, limited funding, and aging assets.
“This is an extensive risk, and its increasing trend means it currently exceeds our desired risk appetite,” the report states. “Ongoing attention and robust response are required.”
The report identifies two major forces shaping Calgary’s risk environment, including long-term pressures from aging infrastructure and faster-than-expected population growth, and emerging threats tied to asset failures, geopolitical instability, and shifting intergovernmental relationships.
Recent events have sharpened the city’s focus. The rupture of the Bearspaw feeder main, a critical water pipeline, is cited as a turning point in how Calgary understands the vulnerability of its essential systems.
The city estimates that about 11 per cent of its infrastructure is currently in poor or very poor condition.
Beyond water systems, the report highlights risks across transportation networks, emergency services infrastructure, and digital systems. Technological disruption is also rated as a “severe” risk.
The findings land just as councillors begin budget discussions, where the question of what gets funded, and when, is expected to dominate debate. With rising project costs and ongoing labour shortages, the city faces mounting pressure to prioritize investments.
City management says improving Calgary’s “risk maturity” will be a key focus moving forward. One immediate priority identified in the report is twinning the Bearspaw water main to reduce the risk of another major failure.
While the water system captured public attention in recent months, officials emphasize that the vulnerabilities extend across the city’s entire infrastructure network, and the consequences will increasingly shape Calgary’s financial and operational decisions.
Council will begin formal budget deliberations later this week.
