Discussion on third-party water main break review returns to Calgary council

Water restrictions in Calgary could be relaxed as soon as Thursday, but on Tuesday, city council will again be examining the potential of a third party review into the root of the whole affair — the break of the Bearspaw South feeder main on June 5.

Requirements will be laid out Tuesday for the review promised by Mayor Jyoti Gondek weeks ago, attempting to find out how such a massive failure could cripple Calgary’s water system.

Tuesday marks 41 days since the initial break, and 40 days since the emergency alert blasted on phones across the city.

At a meeting of council earlier this month, there was some discord over the timelines proposed for a third-party review, which aspired to set a chair by the end of July and have results to publish by November.

A big point of contention in today’s meeting will likely be how the chair and investigation committee are to be hired to ensure transparency, and how the selection process could take more time.

Beyond finding out how it happened, Gondek says she also wants to make sure it won’t happen again, or to anyone else.

The city took the next step in testing the capabilities of the new pipe Monday, as a second pump was turned on at the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant.

The plan is to monitor how the new pipe responds to the added pressure before lifting water restrictions.

Calgary has been under Stage 3 water restrictions since Saturday, July 6, which allows for things like hand watering from a watering can or other container, watering new sod or grass seed, and water use for construction purposes and home renovation projects.

However, exceptions were made to allow for the filling of pools last week due to record-breaking heat.

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